Influence of cyanobacterial inoculation on the culturable microbiome and growth of rice

Publication date: Available online 3 January 2015 Source:Microbiological Research Author(s): Himani Priya , Radha Prasanna , Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan , Ngangom Bidyarani , Santosh Babu , Shobit Thapa , Nirmal Renuka Rice plants are selective with their associations with bacteria that are beneficial for growth, nutrient uptake, exhibit induced resistance or antagonism towards pathogens. Cyanobacteria as bioinoculants are known to promote the growth and health of rice plants. The present investigation was aimed at understanding whether and how cyanobacterial (Calothrix elenkinii) inoculation influenced the rice plant growth and the culturable bacterial populations and to identifying the dominant culturable “microbiome” members. The plant tissue extracts were used to enumerate populations of the culturable microbiome members using selected enrichment media with different nutrient levels. About ten-fold increases in population densities of culturable microbiome members in different media were recorded, with some isolates having metabolic potential for nitrogen fixation and phosphorus solubilization. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing of selected microbial morphotypes suggested the predominance of the members of Bacillaceae. Significant increases in plant growth attributes, nitrogenase activity and indole acetic acid production, and activities of hydrolytic and defense enzymes were recorded in the Calothrix inoculated plants. The PCR...

Source: Microbiological Research - January 16, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research