Desert Plant Endophyte Genome Database: a curated repository of endophytic bacterial genomes across arid ecosystems

Author First name, Last name, Institution

• Sabiha Parween, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
• Arun Prasanna Nagarajan, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
• Amal K. Alghamdi, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
• Abdul Aziz Eida, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
• Feras F. Lafi, Zayed University
• Luma Albanna, The University of Jordan
• Nida Salem, The University of Jordan
• Barakat Abu-Irmaileh, The University of Jordan
• Zaid A. Pirzada, University of Karachi
• Shahid Siddique, University of California, Davis
• Ruben Garrido-Oter, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
• Paul Schulze-Lefert, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
• Maged M. Saad, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
• Heribert Hirt, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Database the Journal of Biological Databases and Curation

Publication Date

1-15-2026

Abstract

Microbial communities associated with desert plants play a pivotal role in enhancing host survival under extreme environmental stressors, including drought, salinity, and nutrient limitation. The Desert Plant Endophyte Microbial Collection is one of the largest curated repositories of 2500 cultivable endophytic bacteria isolated from 23 native desert plant species across Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Pakistan. Representing a broad spectrum of arid microhabitats from inland deserts and mountain wadis to coastal mangroves and date palm oases, the collection supports integrative studies on microbial ecology and plant-microbe interactions in water-limited ecosystems. A central component of this initiative is the Desert Plant Endophyte Genome Database, which currently hosts whole-genome sequences of 534 endophytic bacterial isolates annotated with extensive ecological metadata, assembly statistics, functional traits, and host associations. The database interface provides tools for genome exploration, metadata filtering, and functional gene mining, enabling users to identify taxa and traits of agronomic interest, particularly for applications in sustainable agriculture and sustainable desert revegetation. By combining genomic, ecological, and functional data, the Desert Plant Endophyte Genome Database serves as a foundational platform for the development of targeted microbial inoculants and fosters data-driven research into desert microbiomes and plant resilience mechanisms.

DOI Link

10.1093/database/baag020

ISSN

1758-0463

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Volume

2026

Disciplines

Life Sciences

Keywords

Endophyte (0.72), Biology (0.68), Ecology (0.61), Desert (philosophy) (0.56), Microbiome (0.55), Metagenomics (0.54), Desert climate (0.53), Ecosystem (0.51), Arid (0.51), Host (biology) (0.47), Genome (0.41), Taxon (0.35), Biodiversity (0.35), Ecosystem health (0.32), Ecosystem services (0.32), Keystone species (0.29), Genomics (0.29), Geography (0.28), Plant community (0.28), Ecosystem engineer (0.26), Plant ecology (0.25)

Scopus ID

105035820997

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Parween, Sabiha; Nagarajan, Arun Prasanna; Alghamdi, Amal K.; Eida, Abdul Aziz; Lafi, Feras F.; Albanna, Luma; Salem, Nida; Abu-Irmaileh, Barakat; Pirzada, Zaid A.; Siddique, Shahid; Garrido-Oter, Ruben; Schulze-Lefert, Paul; Saad, Maged M.; and Hirt, Heribert, "Desert Plant Endophyte Genome Database: a curated repository of endophytic bacterial genomes across arid ecosystems" (2026). All Works. 7973.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/7973

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series