Ecological occurrence of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and nitrogen-fixing Acetobacteraceae members: their possible role in plant growth promotion

Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus has a long-standing history of bacterial-plant interrelationship as a symbiotic endophyte capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. In low nitrogen fertilized sugarcane fields it plays a significant role and its occurrence was realised in most of the sugarcane growing countries. In this mini review, the association of G. diazotrophicus with sugarcane, other crop plants and with various hosts is discussed. The factors affecting survival in the rhizosphere and the putative soil mode of transmission are emphasized. In addition, other N(2)-fixing Acetobacteraceae members, including Gluconacetobacter azotocaptans, Gluconacetobacter johannae and Swaminathania salitolerans, occurring in coffee, corn and rice plants are also covered. Lastly, the plant-growth-promoting traits identified in this group of bacteria, including N(2) fixation, phytohormone synthesis, P and Zn solubilization and biocontrol, are analysed.

Recent advances in nitrogen-fixing acetic acid bacteria

Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient, widely applied as N-fertilizer to improve yield of agriculturally important crops. An interesting alternative to avoid or reduce the use of N-fertilizers could be the exploitation of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), capable of enhancing growth and yield of many plant species, several of agronomic and ecological significance. PGPB belong to diverse genera, including Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Herbaspirillum, Bacillus, Burkholderia, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, and Gluconacetobacter, among others. They are capable of promoting plant growth through different mechanisms including (in some cases), the biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), the enzymatic reduction of the atmospheric dinitrogen (N(2)) to ammonia, catalyzed by nitrogenase. Aerobic bacteria able to oxidize ethanol to acetic acid in neutral or acid media are candidates of belonging to the family Acetobacteraceae. At present, this family has been divided into ten genera: Acetobacter, Gluconacetobacter, Gluconobacter, Acidomonas, Asaia, Kozakia, Saccharibacter, Swaminathania, Neoasaia, and Granulibacter. Among them, only three genera include N(2)-fixing species: Gluconacetobacter, Swaminathania and Acetobacter. The first N(2)-fixing acetic acid bacterium (AAB) was described in Brazil. It was found inside tissues of the sugarcane plant, and first named as Acetobacter diazotrophicus, but then renamed as Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus. Later, two new species within the genus Gluconacetobacter, associated to coffee plants, were described in Mexico: G. johannae and G. azotocaptans. A salt-tolerant bacterium named Swaminathania salitolerans was found associated to wild rice plants. Recently, N(2)-fixing Acetobacter peroxydans and Acetobacter nitrogenifigens, associated with rice plants and Kombucha tea, respectively, were described in India. In this paper, recent advances involving nitrogen-fixing AAB are presented. Their natural habitats, physiological and genetic aspects, as well as their association with different plants and contribution through BNF are described as an overview.