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This project represented a completely new approach towards improving the technology of phytoremediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with water soluble and volatile compounds. It endeavoured to tackle the problem of inefficient degradation of these compounds during phytoremediation by improving their degradation during transport in the plant vascular system. Introducing endophytic degrader bacteria into the plants’ vascular system was proposed as a tool to achieve this goal. As a scientific necessity, the project comprised the thorough ecological and genetic investigation of endophytic bacteria, and the isolation of a large number of natural endophytic strains. The project delivered on this goal by providing a large collection of 150 novel characterized endophytic bacteria from poplar and willow, two plant species commonly used for phytoremediation, and from Flag Iris, a plant used for the novel technology of constructed wetlands. Several of these bacteria were engineered to degrade specific organic contaminants, including BTEX, TCE, 2,4-D and naphthalene. Central to the whole project was the goal to reveal the potential of endophytic inoculants for improving phytoremediation in terms of ■ plant survival (decreased phytotoxicity of the pollutant) and contaminant removal (bacterial degradation), resulting in reduced accumulation of contaminants, their metabolites (misrouting products), or their release in the environment via plant transpiration. Work completed with the Yellow Lupin / Burkholderia cepacia / toluene model demonstrates clearly that ! the inoculated endegrader (endophytic bacterial degrader) protects the plant from chemical toxicity, by degrading the toxic compound (the phytoprotection aspect of the “ENDEGRADE concept”), ■ the inoculated endegrader strongly reduces the emission of the chemical from the test system, by a more complete degradation of the compound (the environmental remediation aspect of the “ENDEGRADE