We selected 39 isolates of relatively fast growing mesophilic and copiotrophic bacteria from macerate platings of surface-sterilized husked seeds of rice CT6919 (Table 1). Their microbiological and molecular characterization revealed a diversity of G- and G+ isolates, including members of α- and γ-proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria (Table 1 and Fig. 2). The prevalent genus was the enterobacterial Pantoea (at least 14 out of 39 isolates; 36%), probably due to its higher seed load and/or its higher growth rate. Members of the Enterobacteriaceae were also the most frequently isolated bacteria from the seed crushings of rice varieties cultivated in the Philippines (Cottyn et al., 2001). Pantoea is a heterogeneous genus whose phylogenetic relationships have been recently approached by means of molecular methods (Rezzonico et al., 2009).