This application relates to methods and materials for providing a benefit to a seed or seedling of an agricultural plant (e.g., an agricultural grass plant or a Gycine plant), or the agricultural plant derived from the seed or seedling. For example, this application provides purified bacterial populations that include novel seed bacterial endophytes, and synthetic combinations of seeds and/or seedlings (e.g., cereal or soy seeds and/or cereal or soy seedlings) with heterologous seed-derived bacterial endophytes.
