16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence data from sunflower endosphere bacterial community

Insights into plant endosphere bacterial diversity and exploration of their bioincentives in the formulation of biofertilizers promise to avert ecological disturbances. Here, we presented the sequence dataset of the endophytic bacterial community from the roots and stems of sunflower obtained from farmlands in Itsoseng and Lichtenburg, North West Province of South Africa, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The climatic conditions of this region are characterized by an annual rainfall of about 600 mm and a temperature range of 3 to 21°C during winter and 22 to 34°C during summer. The genomic DNA was obtained from 1 g of each macerated sample using commercial DNA kits (DNeasy® Plant Mini kit, Qiagen, USA). The DNA was amplified through polymerase chain reaction at the V4 region using the specific forward and reverse primers. Amplicon sequencing was performed on the Miseq Illumina platform. Sequence read processing was performed using QIIME 1 16S-based pipeline implemented on Nephele microbial bioinformatics platform using default parameters. The sequence has been deposited in the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) with assigned Bioproject accession numbers. The data reveals the endophytic bacterial community structure and functions in sunflower cultivated in organic and nonorganic soils at growing and flowering stages.