BIODIVERSITAS ISSN: 1412-033X Volume 21, Number 4, April 2020 E-ISSN: 2085-4722 Pages: 1614-1624 DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d210442 The isolation, characterization endophytic bacteria from roots of local rice plant Kamba in, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia SRI SUDEWI 1,2, , AMBO ALA 3,  , BAHARUDDIN 4,  , MUH. FARID 3 ,  1 Program of Agriculture, Graduate School, Universitas Hasanudin. Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Tamalanrea, Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia 2 Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Alkhairaat. Jl. Diponegoro No. 39, Palu 94221, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tel.: +62-451-461123,  email: srisudewirahim@gmail.com 3 Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Hasanudin. Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Tamalanrea, Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tel.: +62-411-586014,  email: amboala_aa@yahoo.com,  farid_deni@yahoo.co.id 4 Department of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Hasanudin. Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Tamalanrea, Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tel.: +62-411-586014,  email: baharunhas@yahoo.com Manuscript received: 6 February 2020. Revision accepted: 23 March 2020. Abstract. Sudewi S, Ala A, Baharuddin, Farid M. 2020. The isolation, characterization endophytic bacteria on from roots of local rice plant Kamba in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 1614-1624. The local "Kamba" rice plants are cultivated by the Bada Valley people for generations by obtaining seeds from previous crops. This rice plant is able to survive even though it is cultivated with traditional cultivation techniques. The ability to survive is suspected because this local rice plant is associated with endophytic bacteria through a variety of mechanisms including being able to produce the IAA hormone and its ability to dissolve phosphate. This study aims to find endophytic bacteria that have the potential to produce IAA and phosphate solvents through morphological and physiological characterization (Gram reaction test with 3% KOH, catalase test, hypersensitivity reaction and hemolysis activity), screening of IAA- producing bacteria qualitative and quantitative, phosphate dissolution activity on Pikovskaya medium, and quantitative using a spectrophotometer. Endophytic bacteria isolates from Gintu give the highest yields in IAA production and phosphate solubility activity, namely RKGU11 and RKGU6, respectively at 4,905 mg L -1 and 10.984 mg L -1 so that it has the potential to be used as a candidate for biofertilizer agents in developing effective sustainable agriculture, respectively, efficient and environmentally friendly. Keywords: Endophytic bacteria, IAA hormone, Kamba, phosphate solubilization, rice INTRODUCTION Isolation and characterization of endophytic bacteria from various types of plants with various interests has been widely carried out in terms to obtain a superior endophytic bacteria, especially in agriculture. Bacteria that have the potential on improving the plant growth could be developed as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers for sustainable crop production and as a qualified agent for biological fertilizers so that to increase the food crop production such as rice (Oryza sativa L.). The lack of information about the presence of endophytic bacteria in the "Kamba" Local Rice plant and its potential for rice plants itself has encouraged the efforts to explore endophytic bacteria in these local rice plants. Endophytic bacteria are neutral bacteria, isolated from the surface of sterilized plant tissue, live in plant tissues without causing symptom of disease in their host plant, and directly benefit their host plant by increasing plant nutrient uptake and modulating phytohormones which can induce the growing plant. (Miliute et al. 2015; Santoyo et al. 2016; Afzal et al. 2019). These bacteria are able to produce the growth-promoting substances such as Indole-3-Acetic acid (IAA), Abscisic acid (ABA), Gibberellic acid (GA) and Cytokinin (CTK) which support plants to absorb nutrients so that they can help plants grow better even in unfavorable environmental conditions (Ma et al. 2016). This is also supported by the study by (Etesami and Alikhani 2016; Etesami et al. 2015) which stated that the production of phytohormones by bacteria can stimulate plant growth under both normal and stress environmental condition. In addition, the endophytic bacteria can stimulate the plant growth through tethering of N2 (diazotrophic bacteria) (Gopalakrishnan et al. 2018; Silveira et al. 2016), phosphate dissolution (Khamwan et al. 2018; Valetti et al. 2018), and their ability as biocontrol agent in increasing plant resistance to plant pest and diseases (Djaya et al. 2019; Abdallah et al. 2016; Mohammed et al. 2019). The presence of endophytic bacteria in plant tissues is influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors. The endophytic bacteria that are associated with plants depend on the plant genotypes, age, tissue taken and also the season when isolation is carried out. Environmental factors also take an effect such as soil properties, organic matter in the soil, cultivation techniques, fertilization, and the application of pesticides (Munif et al. 2012). Bada Valley or Napu Valley is located in Poso, Central Sulawesi with an altitude of 1000-1200 meters above sea level (masl) surrounded by mountain forest that is still natural. This valley is part of the Lore Lindu National Park and customary forest. This area is separated by the Lariang River, which divides this area into two sub-districts namely South Lore District (Gintu, Bewa, Badang'kaia, Runde,