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Torres Vera R, Bernabé García AJ, Carmona Álvarez FJ, Martínez Ruiz J, Fernández Martín F. Application and effectiveness of Methylobacterium symbioticum as a biological inoculant in maize and strawberry crops. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 2024; 69:121-131. [PMID: 37526803 PMCID: PMC10876812 DOI: 10.1007/s12223-023-01078-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
The effectiveness of Methylobacterium symbioticum in maize and strawberry plants was measured under different doses of nitrogen fertilisation. The biostimulant effect of the bacteria was observed in maize and strawberry plants treated with the biological inoculant under different doses of nitrogen fertiliser compared to untreated plants (control). It was found that bacteria allowed a 50 and 25% decrease in the amount of nitrogen applied in maize and strawberry crops, respectively, and the photosynthetic capacity increased compared with the control plant under all nutritional conditions. A decrease in nitrate reductase activity in inoculated maize plants indicated that the bacteria affects the metabolism of the plant. In addition, inoculated strawberry plants grown with a 25% reduction in nitrogen had a higher concentration of nitrogen in leaves than control plants under optimal nutritional conditions. Again, this indicates that Methylobacterium symbioticum provide an additional supply of nitrogen.
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Gonçalves OS, Santana MF. Uncovering the Secrets of Slow-Growing Bacteria in Tropical Savanna Soil Through Isolation and Genomic Analysis. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2023; 86:2687-2702. [PMID: 37507488 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-023-02275-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
One gram of soil holds ten billion bacteria of thousands of different species, but most remain unknown, and one of the serious issues is intrinsic to slow-growing bacteria. In this study, we aimed to isolate and characterize slow-growing bacteria from Brazilian Cerrado soil. Over a period of 4 weeks, we conducted an incubation process and selected a total of 92 isolates. These isolates, consisting mostly of slow-growing bacteria, have the ability to thrive in low-water conditions and possess features that promote plant growth. To identify the isolated bacteria, we performed 16S rRNA sequencing analysis and found that the slow-growing strains were genetically similar to known bacterial species but also belonged to a novel group of species. The new strains identified were Caballeronia sp., Neobacillus sp., Bradyrhizobium sp., and high GC Gram-positive species. Furthermore, we conducted growth experiments using various culture media and temperature conditions. These experiments revealed an extended lag phase for five strains, indicating their slow growth characteristics. Genomic analysis of these five slow-growing bacteria showed their potential to participate in biogeochemical cycles, metabolize various carbohydrates, encode proteins with a role in promoting plant growth and have biosynthetic potential for secondary metabolites. Taken together, our findings reveal the untapped potential of slow-growing bacteria in tropical savanna soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osiel Silva Gonçalves
- Grupo de Genômica Eco-evolutiva Microbiana, Laboratório de Genética Molecular de Microrganismos, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Mateus Ferreira Santana
- Grupo de Genômica Eco-evolutiva Microbiana, Laboratório de Genética Molecular de Microrganismos, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Barros-Rodríguez A, García-Gálvez C, Pacheco P, Kalyuzhnaya MG, Manzanera M. Isolation of Methane Enriched Bacterial Communities and Application as Wheat Biofertilizer under Drought Conditions: An Environmental Contribution. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:2487. [PMID: 37447048 DOI: 10.3390/plants12132487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
The search for methanotrophs as plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) presents an important contribution to mitigating the impact of global warming by restoring the natural soil potential for consuming methane while benefiting plants during droughts. Our in silico simulations suggest that water, produced as a byproduct of methane oxidation, can satisfy the cell growth requirement. In addition to water, methanotrophs can produce metabolites that stimulate plant growth. Considering this, we proposed that applying methanotrophs as PGPR can alleviate the effect of droughts on crops, while stimulating atmospheric methane consumption. In this work, we isolated a series of methanotrophic communities from the rhizospheres of different crops, including Italian sweet pepper and zucchini, using an atmosphere enriched with pure methane gas, to determine their potential for alleviating drought stress in wheat plants. Subsequently, 23 strains of nonmethanotrophic bacteria present in the methanotrophic communities were isolated and characterized. We then analyzed the contribution of the methane-consuming consortia to the improvement of plant growth under drought conditions, showing that some communities contributed to increases in the wheat plants' lengths and weights, with statistically significant differences according to ANOVA models. Furthermore, we found that the presence of methane gas can further stimulate the plant-microbe interactions, resulting in larger plants and higher drought tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adoración Barros-Rodríguez
- Institute for Water Research and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
- VitaNtech Biotechnology S.L., 18008 Granada, Spain
| | - Carlos García-Gálvez
- Institute for Water Research and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
- VitaNtech Biotechnology S.L., 18008 Granada, Spain
| | - Pamela Pacheco
- Institute for Water Research and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | | | - Maximino Manzanera
- Institute for Water Research and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
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Ndlovu S, Suinyuy TN, Pérez-Fernández MA, Magadlela A. Encephalartos natalensis, Their Nutrient-Cycling Microbes and Enzymes: A Story of Successful Trade-Offs. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:1034. [PMID: 36903894 PMCID: PMC10005579 DOI: 10.3390/plants12051034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Encephalartos spp. establish symbioses with nitrogen (N)-fixing bacteria that contribute to soil nutrition and improve plant growth. Despite the Encephalartos mutualistic symbioses with N-fixing bacteria, the identity of other bacteria and their contribution to soil fertility and ecosystem functioning is not well understood. Due to Encephalartos spp. being threatened in the wild, this limited information presents a challenge in developing comprehensive conservation and management strategies for these cycad species. Therefore, this study identified the nutrient-cycling bacteria in Encephalartos natalensis coralloid roots, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere soils. Additionally, the soil characteristics and soil enzyme activities of the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils were assayed. The coralloid roots, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere soils of E. natalensis were collected from a population of >500 E. natalensis in a disturbed savanna woodland at Edendale in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) for nutrient analysis, bacterial identification, and enzyme activity assays. Nutrient-cycling bacteria such as Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus; Paraburkholderia sabiae, and Novosphingobium barchaimii were identified in the coralloid roots, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere soils of E. natalensis. Phosphorus (P) cycling (alkaline and acid phosphatase) and N cycling (β-(D)-Glucosaminidase and nitrate reductase) enzyme activities showed a positive correlation with soil extractable P and total N concentrations in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of E. natalensis. The positive correlation between soil enzymes and soil nutrients demonstrates that the identified nutrient-cycling bacteria in E. natalensis coralloid roots, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere soils and associated enzymes assayed may contribute to soil nutrient bioavailability of E. natalensis plants growing in acidic and nutrient-poor savanna woodland ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siphelele Ndlovu
- School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Westville Campus), Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Terence N. Suinyuy
- School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Mpumalanga (Mbombela Campus), Private Bag X11283, Mbombela 1200, South Africa
| | - María A. Pérez-Fernández
- Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera Km 1, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Anathi Magadlela
- School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Westville Campus), Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa
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Insights into the genome of Methylobacterium sp. NMS14P, a novel bacterium for growth promotion of maize, chili, and sugarcane. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281505. [PMID: 36749783 PMCID: PMC9904496 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A novel methylotrophic bacterium designated as NMS14P was isolated from the root of an organic coffee plant (Coffea arabica) in Thailand. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed that this new isolate belongs to the genus Methylobacterium, and its novelty was clarified by genomic and comparative genomic analyses, in which NMS14P exhibited low levels of relatedness with other Methylobacterium-type strains. NMS14P genome consists of a 6,268,579 bp chromosome, accompanied by a 542,519 bp megaplasmid and a 66,590 bp plasmid, namely pNMS14P1 and pNMS14P2, respectively. Several genes conferring plant growth promotion are aggregated on both chromosome and plasmids, including phosphate solubilization, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) biosynthesis, cytokinins (CKs) production, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase activity, sulfur-oxidizing activity, trehalose synthesis, and urea metabolism. Furthermore, pangenome analysis showed that NMS14P possessed the highest number of strain-specific genes accounting for 1408 genes, particularly those that are essential for colonization and survival in a wide array of host environments, such as ABC transporter, chemotaxis, quorum sensing, biofilm formation, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In vivo tests have supported that NMS14P significantly promoted the growth and development of maize, chili, and sugarcane. Collectively, NMS14P is proposed as a novel plant growth-promoting Methylobacterium that could potentially be applied to a broad range of host plants as Methylobacterium-based biofertilizers to reduce and ultimately substitute the use of synthetic agrochemicals for sustainable agriculture.
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Leducq JB, Sneddon D, Santos M, Condrain-Morel D, Bourret G, Cecilia Martinez-Gomez N, Lee JA, Foster JA, Stolyar S, Jesse Shapiro B, Kembel SW, Sullivan JM, Marx CJ. Comprehensive phylogenomics of Methylobacterium reveals four evolutionary distinct groups and underappreciated phyllosphere diversity. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6652236. [PMID: 35906926 PMCID: PMC9364378 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Methylobacterium is a group of methylotrophic microbes associated with soil, fresh water, and particularly the phyllosphere, the aerial part of plants that has been well-studied in terms of physiology but whose evolutionary history and taxonomy are unclear. Recent work has suggested that Methylobacterium is much more diverse than thought previously, questioning its status as an ecologically and phylogenetically coherent taxonomic genus. However, taxonomic and evolutionary studies of Methylobacterium have mostly been restricted to model species, often isolated from habitats other than the phyllosphere, and have yet to utilize comprehensive phylogenomic methods to examine gene trees, gene content, or synteny. By analyzing 189 Methylobacterium genomes from a wide range of habitats, including the phyllosphere, we inferred a robust phylogenetic tree while explicitly accounting for the impact of horizontal gene transfer. We showed that Methylobacterium contains four evolutionarily distinct groups of bacteria (namely A, B, C, D), characterized by different genome size, GC content, gene content and genome architecture, revealing the dynamic nature of Methylobacterium genomes. In addition to recovering 59 described species, we identified 45 candidate species, mostly phyllosphere-associated, stressing the significance of plants as a reservoir of Methylobacterium diversity. We inferred an ancient transition from a free-living lifestyle to association with plant roots in Methylobacteriaceae ancestor, followed by phyllosphere association of three of the major groups (A, B, D), whose early branching in Methylobacterium history has been heavily obscured by HGT. Together, our work lays the foundations for a thorough redefinition of Methylobacterium taxonomy, beginning with the abandonment of Methylorubrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Baptiste Leducq
- Université Laval - Quebec City (QC) Canada.,University of Idaho - Moscow (ID) US
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - B Jesse Shapiro
- Université de Montréal - Montreal (QC) Canada.,McGill University - Montreal (QC) Canada
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Fine-Scale Adaptations to Environmental Variation and Growth Strategies Drive Phyllosphere Methylobacterium Diversity. mBio 2022; 13:e0317521. [PMID: 35073752 PMCID: PMC8787475 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03175-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Methylobacterium is a prevalent bacterial genus of the phyllosphere. Despite its ubiquity, little is known about the extent to which its diversity reflects neutral processes like migration and drift, versus environmental filtering of life history strategies and adaptations. In two temperate forests, we investigated how phylogenetic diversity within Methylobacterium is structured by biogeography, seasonality, and growth strategies. Using deep, culture-independent barcoded marker gene sequencing coupled with culture-based approaches, we uncovered a considerable diversity of Methylobacterium in the phyllosphere. We cultured different subsets of Methylobacterium lineages depending upon the temperature of isolation and growth (20°C or 30°C), suggesting long-term adaptation to temperature. To a lesser extent than temperature adaptation, Methylobacterium diversity was also structured across large (>100 km; between forests) and small (<1.2 km; within forests) geographical scales, among host tree species, and was dynamic over seasons. By measuring the growth of 79 isolates during different temperature treatments, we observed contrasting growth performances, with strong lineage- and season-dependent variations in growth strategies. Finally, we documented a progressive replacement of lineages with a high-yield growth strategy typical of cooperative, structured communities in favor of those characterized by rapid growth, resulting in convergence and homogenization of community structure at the end of the growing season. Together, our results show how Methylobacterium is phylogenetically structured into lineages with distinct growth strategies, which helps explain their differential abundance across regions, host tree species, and time. This work paves the way for further investigation of adaptive strategies and traits within a ubiquitous phyllosphere genus. IMPORTANCE Methylobacterium is a bacterial group tied to plants. Despite the ubiquity of methylobacteria and the importance to their hosts, little is known about the processes driving Methylobacterium community dynamics. By combining traditional culture-dependent and -independent (metabarcoding) approaches, we monitored Methylobacterium diversity in two temperate forests over a growing season. On the surface of tree leaves, we discovered remarkably diverse and dynamic Methylobacterium communities over short temporal (from June to October) and spatial (within 1.2 km) scales. Because we cultured different subsets of Methylobacterium diversity depending on the temperature of incubation, we suspected that these dynamics partly reflected climatic adaptation. By culturing strains under laboratory conditions mimicking seasonal variations, we found that diversity and environmental variations were indeed good predictors of Methylobacterium growth performances. Our findings suggest that Methylobacterium community dynamics at the surface of tree leaves results from the succession of strains with contrasting growth strategies in response to environmental variations.
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de Lajudie P, Mousavi SA, Young JPW. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Rhizobia and Agrobacteria Minutes of the closed meeting by videoconference, 6 July 2020. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2021; 71. [PMID: 33956594 PMCID: PMC8289204 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Philippe de Lajudie
- IRD, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, SupAgro, LSTM, Montpellier, France
| | - Seyed Abdollah Mousavi
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Biology, University of Turku, Finland
| | - J Peter W Young
- Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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Oren A, Garrity GM. List of new names and new combinations that have appeared in effective publications outside of the IJSEM and are submitted for valid publication. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2021; 71. [PMID: 33513088 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Aharon Oren
- The Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, 9190401 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - George M Garrity
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Biomedical Physical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-4320, USA
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