The utility of microorganisms for solubilizing the unavailable forms of potassium(K) from soil has led to renewed interest in fabrication of rapid and sensitive plate assays for their isolation and screening. The pres...The utility of microorganisms for solubilizing the unavailable forms of potassium(K) from soil has led to renewed interest in fabrication of rapid and sensitive plate assays for their isolation and screening. The present study developed a modified plate assay and compared it with previously reported methods for the isolation and screening of K-solubilizing bacteria. The newly developed plate assay is based on improved visualization of halo zone formation around the colonies on agar plates, through inclusion of an acid-base indicator dye, bromothymol blue(BTB), to modify the previously reported Aleksandrov medium. The halo zone exhibited a significant correlation(R = 0.939) with K released in liquid medium. The visualization of potential K solubilizers was improved using this method, which would help in detection of weak/non-acid producers based on secretion of organic acids in the medium. Organic acids in plate diffuse radially and form halo zones in response to reaction with the acid-base indicator dye BTB. Furthermore, K solubilization on plates with this method can be observed within 48–72 h, against the incubation time of 4–5 d needed in the earlier method. Therefore, the newly developed protocol for the plate assay was time saving, more sensitive, and beneficial in comparison to the previously reported Aleksandrov plate assay.展开更多
Emerging contaminants like metal nanoparticles get introduced into soil through different routes.Toxic effects of these contaminants on plant growth-promoting bacteria(PGPB),which influence plant productivity,can be d...Emerging contaminants like metal nanoparticles get introduced into soil through different routes.Toxic effects of these contaminants on plant growth-promoting bacteria(PGPB),which influence plant productivity,can be detrimental to soil health.Titanium dioxide is one of the most produced nanomaterials in the world and therefore potentially the most released nanoform in soil.The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles(TiO2 NPs)on plant growth-promoting bacteria.Three types of PGPB,viz.,nitrogen fixers,phosphate solubilizers and biofilm formers were exposed to TiO2 NPs.Our results suggest that direct contact of the bacteria with these NPs is inhibitory as compared to when these bacteria are growing in laboratory nutrient media in the presence of NPs.The inhibitory effect did not follow a linear dose response but instead showed a pronounced step response.Soils with their varying characteristics may not afford the same protection to bacteria as laboratory nutrient media and thus TiO2 NPs may cause some sensitive PGPB to disappear from soil.The resultant shift in bacterial community composition may affect ecosystem functioning.展开更多
Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting crop growth and yield.This study investigated the underlying mechanisms of Trichoderma asperellum Q1 in promoting cucumber growth under salt stress, including the...Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting crop growth and yield.This study investigated the underlying mechanisms of Trichoderma asperellum Q1 in promoting cucumber growth under salt stress, including the abilities of the strain to solubilize phosphate and to produce phytohormone.The results showed that T.asperellum Q1 could solubilize inorganic or organic phosphate and the activities of phosphatases and phytase could be detected in the culture supernatant.In hydroponic experiments, the growth of cucumber seedlings was increased in the hydroponic system treated by culture filtrate of strain Q1 with tricalcium phosphate or calcium phytate under salt stress.This strain also exhibited the ability to produce indole acetic acid（IAA）, gibberellic acid（GA） and abscisic acid（ABA） in liquid medium without any inducers.The levels of those three phytohormones in cucumber seedling leaves also increased after inoculated with this strain, along with increased root growth and root activities of the plant.These results demonstrated the mechanisms of T.asperellum Q1 in alleviating the suppression effect of salt stress involving the change of phytohormone levels in cucumber plant and its ability of phosphate solubilization.展开更多
基金the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), IndiaICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) for providing financial support
文摘The utility of microorganisms for solubilizing the unavailable forms of potassium(K) from soil has led to renewed interest in fabrication of rapid and sensitive plate assays for their isolation and screening. The present study developed a modified plate assay and compared it with previously reported methods for the isolation and screening of K-solubilizing bacteria. The newly developed plate assay is based on improved visualization of halo zone formation around the colonies on agar plates, through inclusion of an acid-base indicator dye, bromothymol blue(BTB), to modify the previously reported Aleksandrov medium. The halo zone exhibited a significant correlation(R = 0.939) with K released in liquid medium. The visualization of potential K solubilizers was improved using this method, which would help in detection of weak/non-acid producers based on secretion of organic acids in the medium. Organic acids in plate diffuse radially and form halo zones in response to reaction with the acid-base indicator dye BTB. Furthermore, K solubilization on plates with this method can be observed within 48–72 h, against the incubation time of 4–5 d needed in the earlier method. Therefore, the newly developed protocol for the plate assay was time saving, more sensitive, and beneficial in comparison to the previously reported Aleksandrov plate assay.
基金the University Grants Commission(UGC)of the Government of India(Minor research grant:47-584/13(WRO)).
文摘Emerging contaminants like metal nanoparticles get introduced into soil through different routes.Toxic effects of these contaminants on plant growth-promoting bacteria(PGPB),which influence plant productivity,can be detrimental to soil health.Titanium dioxide is one of the most produced nanomaterials in the world and therefore potentially the most released nanoform in soil.The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles(TiO2 NPs)on plant growth-promoting bacteria.Three types of PGPB,viz.,nitrogen fixers,phosphate solubilizers and biofilm formers were exposed to TiO2 NPs.Our results suggest that direct contact of the bacteria with these NPs is inhibitory as compared to when these bacteria are growing in laboratory nutrient media in the presence of NPs.The inhibitory effect did not follow a linear dose response but instead showed a pronounced step response.Soils with their varying characteristics may not afford the same protection to bacteria as laboratory nutrient media and thus TiO2 NPs may cause some sensitive PGPB to disappear from soil.The resultant shift in bacterial community composition may affect ecosystem functioning.
基金supported by the grant from the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation,Shandong,China(ZR2009DM042)
文摘Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting crop growth and yield.This study investigated the underlying mechanisms of Trichoderma asperellum Q1 in promoting cucumber growth under salt stress, including the abilities of the strain to solubilize phosphate and to produce phytohormone.The results showed that T.asperellum Q1 could solubilize inorganic or organic phosphate and the activities of phosphatases and phytase could be detected in the culture supernatant.In hydroponic experiments, the growth of cucumber seedlings was increased in the hydroponic system treated by culture filtrate of strain Q1 with tricalcium phosphate or calcium phytate under salt stress.This strain also exhibited the ability to produce indole acetic acid（IAA）, gibberellic acid（GA） and abscisic acid（ABA） in liquid medium without any inducers.The levels of those three phytohormones in cucumber seedling leaves also increased after inoculated with this strain, along with increased root growth and root activities of the plant.These results demonstrated the mechanisms of T.asperellum Q1 in alleviating the suppression effect of salt stress involving the change of phytohormone levels in cucumber plant and its ability of phosphate solubilization.
