Abstract: By spraying the GFP-marked endophytic bacterial strains BS-2-gfp and TB2-gfp, this paper studied their colonization in lychee organs and the functions of the strains in disease control and fruit preservation. The BS-2-gfp and TB2-gfp could colonize and propagate in lychee leaves, flowers, un-matured fruits, and matured fruits, and transfer from the flowers to un-matured fruits. The colonization of BS-2-gfp and TB2-gfp in lychee leaves varied with season and growth stage, being larger in quantity and longer in duration in spring than in autumn. The colonization quantity and duration of the strains also differed in other organs. Both the BS-2-gfp and the TB2-gfp could be isolated and recovered from lychee leaves after 37 d inoculation, the BS-2-gfp could not be isolated from the flowers after inoculation for 10 d, and the BS-2-gfp and TB2-gfp had the largest colonization quantity in matured fruits. The colonization quantity of TB2-gfp in lychee pericarp reached to the maximum (1.90×10⁶ CFU·g^-1FM) when the disease index of litchi downy blight had a sharp increase, and, compared with BS-2-gfp, the TB2-gfp had better fruit preservation efficiency, and its colonization quantity in lychee pericarp was also higher. It was suggested that there was a positive correlation between the colonization quantity of test bacterial strains in lychee pericarp and the disease control and fruit preservation effect.

Key words: Litchi chinensis, endophytic bacteria, colonization, disease control, fruit preservation