• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.42 no.spc
• /
• pp.20-28
• /
• 2009

The sustainability of conventional agriculture which is characterized by input dependent and ecologically simplified food production system is vague. Chemicals and present practices used in agriculture are not only costly but also have widespread implications on human and animal health, food quality and safety and environmental quality. Thus there is a need for alternative farming practices to sustain food production for the escalating population and conserve environment for future generations. The present research scenario in the area of plant microbe interactions for maintaining sustainable agriculture suggests that the level of internal regulation in agro-ecosystems is largely dependent on the level of plant and microbial diversity present in the soil. In agro-ecosystems, biodiversity performs a variety of ecological services beyond the production of food, including recycling of nutrients, regulation of microclimate and local hydrological processes, suppression of undesirable organisms and detoxification of noxious chemicals. Controlling the soil microflora to enhance the predominance of beneficial and effective microorganisms can help improve and maintain soil chemical and physical properties. The role of beneficial soil microorganisms in sustainable productivity has been well construed. Some plant bacteria referred to as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can contribute to improve plant growth, nutrient uptake and microbial diversity when inoculated to plants. Term PGPR was initially used to describe strains of naturally occurring non-symbiotic soil bacteria have the ability to colonize plant roots and stimulate plant growth PGPR activity has been reported in strains belonging to several other genera, such as Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Arthrobacter Bacillus, Burkhokderia, Methylobacterium, and Pseudomonas etc. PGPR stimulate plant growth directly either by synthesizing hormones such as indole acetic acid or by promoting nutrition, for example, by phosphate solubilization or more generally by accelerating mineralization processes. They can also stimulate growth indirectly, acting as biocontrol agents by protecting the plant against soil borne fungal pathogens or deleterious bacteria. Present review focuses on some recent developments to evolve strategies for better biotechnological exploitation of PGPR's.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.484-499
• /
• 2023

Plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria can be used as bioresources to enhance phytoremediation through their PGP traits and pollutant removal capacity. In this study, 49 rhizobacteria were primarily isolated from the rhizosphere of tall fescue grown in diesel- and heavy metal-contaminated soil. Their biosurfactant production, phosphate (P) solubilization, and siderophore production were qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated to identify superior PGP bacteria. The optimal conditions for the growth of PGP bacteria and the stability of their PGP traits were a temperature of 35℃, a pH of 7, and 2 days of cultivation time. Four superior PGP bacteria (Pseudomonas sp. NL3, Bacillus sp. NL6, Bacillus sp. LBY14, and Priestia sp. TSY6) were finally selected. Pseudomonas sp. NL3 exhibited superior biosurfactant production and P solubilization. Bacillus sp. NL6 showed the highest P solubilization and superior production of biosurfactants and siderophores. Bacillus sp. LBY14 offered the best siderophore production and impressive P solubilization. Priestia sp. TSY6 had superior capacity for all three PGP traits. Through their secretion of beneficial PGP metabolites, the four bacteria isolated in this study have the potential for use in the phytoremediation of contaminated soil.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.179-183
• /
• 2010

Ethylene is a key gaseous hormone that controls various physiological processes in plants including growth, senescence, fruit ripening, and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. In spite of some of these positive effects, the gas usually inhibits plant growth. While chemical fertilizers help plants grow better by providing soil-limited nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate, overusage often results in growth inhibition by soil contamination and subsequent stress responses in plants. Therefore, controlling ethylene production in plants becomes one of the attractive challenges to increase crop yields. Some soil bacteria among plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can stimulate plant growth even under stressful conditions by reducing ethylene levels in plants, hence the term "stress controllers" for these bacteria. Thus, manipulation of relevant genes or gene products might not only help clear polluted soil of contaminants but contribute to elevating the crop productivity. In this article, the beneficial soil bacteria and the mechanisms of reduced ethylene production in plants by stress controllers are discussed.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.223-229
• /
• 2020

The application of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) supports the growth of plants in contaminated soil while ureolytic bacteria can immobilise heavy metals by carbonate precipitation. Thus, dual treatment with such bacteria may be beneficial for plant growth and bioremediation in contaminated soil. This study aimed to determine whether the PGPR Pseudomonas fluorescens could work in synergy with ureolytic bacteria to assist with the remediation of cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contaminated soils. Pot experiments were conducted to grow radish plants in Cd- and Pb-contaminated soils treated with PGPR P. fluorescens and the results were compared with dual inoculation of P. fluorescens combined with ureolytic Staphylococcus epidermidis HJ2. The removal rate of the metals from the soil was more than 83% for Cd and Pb by the combined treatment compared to 17% by PGPR alone. Further, the dual treatment reduced the metal accumulation in the roots by more than 80%. The translocation factors for Cd and Pb in plant tissues in both treatments remained the same, suggesting that PGPR combined with the carbonate precipitation process does not hamper the transfer of essential metal ions into plant tissues from the soil.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.32 no.10
• /
• pp.1292-1298
• /
• 2022

Soil autotrophic bacterial communities play a significant role in the soil carbon (C) cycle in paddy fields, but little is known about how rhizosphere soil microorganisms respond to different long-term (35 years) fertilization practices under double rice cropping ecosystems in southern China. Here, we investigated the variation characteristics of rhizosphere soil RubisCO gene cbbL in the double rice ecosystems of in southern China where such fertilization practices are used. For this experiment we set up the following fertilizer regime: without any fertilizer input as a control (CK), inorganic fertilizer (MF), straw returning (RF), and organic and inorganic fertilizer (OM). We found that abundances of cbbL, 16S rRNA genes and RubisCO activity in rhizosphere soil with OM, RF and MF treatments were significantly higher than that of CK treatment. The abundances of cbbL and 16S rRNA genes in rhizosphere soil with OM treatment were 5.46 and 3.64 times higher than that of CK treatment, respectively. Rhizosphere soil RubisCO activity with OM and RF treatments increased by 50.56 and 45.22%, compared to CK treatment. Shannon and Chao1 indices for rhizosphere soil cbbL libraries with RF and OM treatments increased by 44.28, 28.56, 29.60, and 23.13% compared to CK treatment. Rhizosphere soil cbbL sequences with MF, RF and OM treatments mainly belonged to Variovorax paradoxus, uncultured proteobacterium, Ralstonia pickettii, Thermononospora curvata, and Azoarcus sp.KH33C. Meanwhile, cbbL-carrying bacterial composition was obviously influenced by soil bulk density, rhizosphere soil dissolved organic C, soil organic C, and microbial biomass C contents. Fertilizer practices were the principal factor influencing rhizosphere soil cbbL-carrying bacterial communities. These results showed that rhizosphere soil autotrophic bacterial communities were significantly changed under conditions of different long-term fertilization practices Therefore, increasing rhizosphere soil autotrophic bacteria community with crop residue and organic manure practices was found to be beneficial for management of double rice ecosystems in southern China.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.266-274
• /
• 2000

Understanding of microbial community structure in soil-root system is necessary to use beneficial soil and rhizosphere microbes for improvement of crop production and biocontrol. The knowledge of behavior and function of microbes in soil-root system plays a key role for the application of beneficial inocula. Because the majority of the intact bacteria in soil are unable to grow on nutrient media, both culturable and nonculturable bacteria have to be studied together. In our study, culture-independent survey of bacterial community in the soil-root system of red pepper fields was conducted by the sequence analysis of three universal clone libraries of genes which code for small-subunit rRNA (rDNA). Universal small subunit rRNA primers were used to amplify DNA extracted from each sample and PCR products were cloned into pGEM-T. Out of 27 clones sequenced, 25 clones were from domain bacteria. Two of the rDNA sequences were derived from eukaryotic organelles. Within the domain bacteria, several kingdoms were represented : the Proteobacteria (16 clones). Cytophyga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides group (2 clones). the high G+C content gram-positive group(1 clone) and 4 unknown clones.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.391-402
• /
• 2021

Earthworms play an important role in soil fertilization, interacting continually with microorganisms. This study aims to demonstrate the existence of beneficial microorganisms living in the earthworm's immune system, the coelomic fluid. To achieve this goal, a molecular identification technique was performed, using cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) barcoding to identify abundant endogenic earthworms inhabiting the temperate zone of Rabat, Morocco. Then, 16S rDNA and ITS sequencing techniques were adopted for bacteria and fungi, respectively. Biochemical analysis, showed the ability of bacteria to produce characteristic enzymes and utilize substrates. Qualitative screening of plant growth-promoting traits, including nitrogen fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilization, and indole acetic acid (IAA) production, was also performed. The result of mitochondrial COI barcoding allowed the identification of the earthworm species Aporrectodea molleri. Phenotypic and genotypic studies of the sixteen isolated bacteria and the two isolated fungi showed that they belong to the Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Buttiauxella, Enterobacter, Pantoea, and Raoultella, and the Penicillium genera, respectively. Most of the isolated bacteria in the coelomic fluid showed the ability to produce β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, Glutamyl-β-naphthylamidase, and aminopeptidase enzymes, utilizing substrates like aliphatic thiol, sorbitol, and fatty acid ester. Furthermore, three bacteria were able to fix nitrogen, solubilize phosphate and potassium, and produce IAA. This initial study demonstrated that despite the immune property of earthworms' coelomic fluid, it harbors beneficial microorganisms. Thus, the presence of resistant microorganisms in the earthworm's immune system highlights a possible selection process at the coelomic fluid level.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.217-220
• /
• 2002

Mulberry being a foliage crop is grown extensively for feeding of silkworms and are also used for cattle feeding. These loaves are highly nutritious, which contain various mineral elements and bio-molecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and other essential amino acids, etc. In the present study, deproteinized mulberry leaf juice was used for preparation of the medium for cultivation of various types of microbes. Results revealed that deproteinized mulberry leaf juice medium is best for isolation of fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes and this medium can be substituted with synthetic media, which are haying the costly ingredients for isolation and identification of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes. Further, this deproteinized mulberry juice medium can also be used in mass multiplication of useful/beneficial microbes to enhance soil microflora to improve soil fertility and to avoid root diseases. Perspective enterprises can take up the mass multiplication/large-scale production of useful microbes such as Trichoderma, Rhizobium, Pseudomonas and Bacillus to use in mulberry and in other agricultural crops using deproteinized mulberry leaf juice.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.30 no.11
• /
• pp.1688-1696
• /
• 2020

Soil physical and chemical characteristics, soil potential denitrification rates (PDR), community composition and nirK-, nirS- and nosZ-encoding denitrifiers were studied by using MiSeq sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and terminal restriction fragment polymorphism (T-RFLP) technologies base on short-term (5-year) tillage field experiment. The experiment included four tillage treatments: conventional tillage with crop residue incorporation (CT), rotary tillage with crop residue incorporation (RT), no-tillage with crop residue retention (NT), and rotary tillage with crop residue removed as control (RTO). The results indicated that soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and NH₄⁺-N contents were increased with CT, RT and NT treatments. Compared with RTO treatment, the copies number of nirK, nirS and nosZ in paddy soil with CT, RT and NT treatments were significantly increased. The principal coordinate analysis indicated that tillage management and crop residue returning management were the most and the second important factors for the change of denitrifying bacteria community, respectively. Meanwhile, this study indicated that activity and community composition of denitrifiers with CT, RT and NT treatments were increased, compared with RTO treatment. This result showed that nirK, nirS and nosZ-type denitrifiers communities in crop residue applied soil had higher species diversity compared with crop residue removed soil, and denitrifying bacteria community composition were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria. Therefore, it is a beneficial practice to increase soil PDR level, abundance and community composition of nitrogen-functional soil microorganism by combined application of tillage with crop residue management.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.101-105
• /
• 2009

The biocontrol agent Serratia plymuthica A21-4 was selected and proved as an excellent inhibitor of Phytophthora blight of pepper through in vitro and in vivo experiments in previous studies. To enhance the colonizing density of S. plymuthica A21-4 on plant root and rhizosphere soil, some soil conditions might effect on the colonization of the bacteria were examined. The results obtained from the study indicated that the soils containing more sand were favorable to root colonization of S. plymuthica A21-4. Organic amendment such as 3% maize straw(w/w) was helpful to colonize the bacteria in root and soil. The soil temperature about $20^{\circ}C$, water content around 40%, and soil pH near to neutral or slightly acidic, were optimum condition for the colonization of S. plymuthica A21-4 in the rhizosphere soil and roots of pepper. In addition, existence of indigenous biotic entities was beneficial to the colonization of S. plymuthica A21-4.