This study investigated the ability of the fungus Trichoderma harzianum Rifai 1295-22 (T-22) to solubilize insoluble minerals in vitro. T-22 was able to solubilize manganese dioxide (MnO2), metallic zinc, and rock phosphate (calcium phosphate) in liquid culture, as determined by chemical analysis. Solubilization occurred both in live cultures and in cell-free culture filtrates. The mechanisms of solubilization involved chelation of minerals by fungal metabolites and reduction of iron and copper ions. This is the first report of a Trichoderma strain solubilizing insoluble minerals, which may partially explain its ability to promote plant growth.
Measuring Rates of Herbicide Metabolism in Dicot Weeds with an Excised Leaf A...Rong Ma
1. The document describes a method using an excised leaf assay to measure rates of herbicide metabolism in waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus), an obligate-outcrossing dicot weed.
2. The excised leaf assay allows for accurate determination of herbicide degradation rates in herbicide-resistant and sensitive waterhemp populations while removing the effects of translocation.
3. The quantity of parent herbicide remaining over time is measured and fitted to a curve to estimate the time required for 50% of the absorbed herbicide to degrade (DT50), providing a quantitative measure of a population's herbicide metabolism rate.
In an experiment, maize plants were inoculated with seven strains of mycorrhizae fungi previously isolated from AL-Jabal AL-Akhdar forests. AMF strains: (Rhizophagus intraradices, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, Gigspora sp., Entrophos Porainfeqeas, Scutellospora sp., Archaeospora trappei, funneliformis mosseae) maize seeds planted in sandy soil in pots and either inoculated or not with a single inocula strain of the examined AFM strains. Phosphorus was applied as mono-calcium phosphate at the recommended rates of application three levels of phosphate fertilization: (with out of phosphate fertilizer: F0), (addition of super phosphate at aerate of 50 kg/ha: F1), (add of super phosphate at aerate of 100 kg/ha: F2). After harvesting the maize plant, the content of the leaves was estimated from the following nutrients: (N, P K, Fe, Zn), the results showed that most of them gave a significant increase in the plant content of these nutrients. Effect of phosphate fertilization with inoculation mycorrhizal strains deficiency in the concentration of some nutrient with in plant compared to treatment inoculated without adding phosphate fertilizer.
The document summarizes a study that examined the effect of salt stress on the total lipid composition of two banana varieties: dwarf and tall. The study found that salt stress influenced the lipid composition differently between the two varieties. For the dwarf variety, triglyceride and diglyceride levels were not affected by increasing salt concentration, but monoglycerides and free fatty acids were more influenced. For the tall variety, triglycerides were absent even in control plants not exposed to salt stress, and membrane lipids seemed less affected than in the dwarf variety. The results indicate that the lipid composition of the tall variety is less sensitive to salt stress than the dwarf variety.
Root exudates play an important role in plant nutrition by interacting with soil microbes and influencing the rhizosphere. Root exudates include primary metabolites like amino acids, carbohydrates, organic acids, and secondary metabolites like flavonoids, lignins, coumarins, and fatty acids. These exudates are released from the root tip through passive diffusion and active transport processes. They function to attract beneficial microbes, chelate nutrients, and defend against pathogens in the rhizosphere. The composition and concentration of root exudates varies depending on plant species and environmental conditions like nutrient availability.
The document discusses mechanisms of salinity tolerance in plants. It describes how plants can tolerate high salt concentrations through avoidance, tissue tolerance, and salt dilution. Avoidance mechanisms keep salt ions away from sensitive plant tissues through exclusion, excretion, or compartmentalization of ions. Tissue tolerance allows plants to tolerate accumulated ions through compartmentalization at the cellular and intracellular levels. Salt dilution increases plant storage volume to dilute ion concentrations. The document provides examples of plant species that exhibit different tolerance mechanisms and strategies to mitigate the effects of salinity on crops.
TECHNICAL BULLETIN - FASCINATE THE IDEAL HERBICIDE RESISTANCE PARTNERUPL
This Technical Bulletin provides
information to facilitate the understanding of the growing herbicide resistance of weeds, as well as the consequences of this problem.
ABSTRACT- Laccase is multicopper oxidases that are widely distributed among plants, insects, fungi and bacteria. Pollution increased with the
time day by day, laccase is an oxido-reductase which plays a significant role in remediation. These enzyme catalyze and one-electron oxidation of a
wide variety of organic and inorganic substrate including mono-, di-, and poly-phenols, amino-phenols, metho-oxyphenols, aromatic amines, and
ascorbate, with the concomitant four electron reduction of oxygen to water. Present study on their use in several industrial application, includes dye
decolorization, detoxification of environmental pollutants and revalorization of waste and waste water etc. this review helps to understand the properties
of these improvement enzymes for efficient utilization for its biotechnological and environmental applications. Now we provide a brief discussion
of this interesting group of enzymes, increase knowledge of which will promote laccase based industrial process in future.
Keywords: Laccase, Biodegradation, Bioremediation and Dye decolorization
The study investigated the rhizosphere microbial community of white clover (Trifolium repens) to identify bacteria with nitrogen-fixing, cellulolytic, and antibiotic functions. Soil was collected from the rhizosphere and metagenomic DNA was extracted. Six bacterial isolates were discovered to produce cellulase enzymes, fix nitrogen, and synthesize antimicrobials. Analysis identified the isolates as Streptomyces species. Metagenomic data showed the rhizosphere had high biodiversity and the highest concentrations of relevant functional bacteria. This supports the unique ability of white clover to colonize nutrient-poor soils.
Measuring Rates of Herbicide Metabolism in Dicot Weeds with an Excised Leaf A...Rong Ma
1. The document describes a method using an excised leaf assay to measure rates of herbicide metabolism in waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus), an obligate-outcrossing dicot weed.
2. The excised leaf assay allows for accurate determination of herbicide degradation rates in herbicide-resistant and sensitive waterhemp populations while removing the effects of translocation.
3. The quantity of parent herbicide remaining over time is measured and fitted to a curve to estimate the time required for 50% of the absorbed herbicide to degrade (DT50), providing a quantitative measure of a population's herbicide metabolism rate.
In an experiment, maize plants were inoculated with seven strains of mycorrhizae fungi previously isolated from AL-Jabal AL-Akhdar forests. AMF strains: (Rhizophagus intraradices, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, Gigspora sp., Entrophos Porainfeqeas, Scutellospora sp., Archaeospora trappei, funneliformis mosseae) maize seeds planted in sandy soil in pots and either inoculated or not with a single inocula strain of the examined AFM strains. Phosphorus was applied as mono-calcium phosphate at the recommended rates of application three levels of phosphate fertilization: (with out of phosphate fertilizer: F0), (addition of super phosphate at aerate of 50 kg/ha: F1), (add of super phosphate at aerate of 100 kg/ha: F2). After harvesting the maize plant, the content of the leaves was estimated from the following nutrients: (N, P K, Fe, Zn), the results showed that most of them gave a significant increase in the plant content of these nutrients. Effect of phosphate fertilization with inoculation mycorrhizal strains deficiency in the concentration of some nutrient with in plant compared to treatment inoculated without adding phosphate fertilizer.
The document summarizes a study that examined the effect of salt stress on the total lipid composition of two banana varieties: dwarf and tall. The study found that salt stress influenced the lipid composition differently between the two varieties. For the dwarf variety, triglyceride and diglyceride levels were not affected by increasing salt concentration, but monoglycerides and free fatty acids were more influenced. For the tall variety, triglycerides were absent even in control plants not exposed to salt stress, and membrane lipids seemed less affected than in the dwarf variety. The results indicate that the lipid composition of the tall variety is less sensitive to salt stress than the dwarf variety.
Root exudates play an important role in plant nutrition by interacting with soil microbes and influencing the rhizosphere. Root exudates include primary metabolites like amino acids, carbohydrates, organic acids, and secondary metabolites like flavonoids, lignins, coumarins, and fatty acids. These exudates are released from the root tip through passive diffusion and active transport processes. They function to attract beneficial microbes, chelate nutrients, and defend against pathogens in the rhizosphere. The composition and concentration of root exudates varies depending on plant species and environmental conditions like nutrient availability.
The document discusses mechanisms of salinity tolerance in plants. It describes how plants can tolerate high salt concentrations through avoidance, tissue tolerance, and salt dilution. Avoidance mechanisms keep salt ions away from sensitive plant tissues through exclusion, excretion, or compartmentalization of ions. Tissue tolerance allows plants to tolerate accumulated ions through compartmentalization at the cellular and intracellular levels. Salt dilution increases plant storage volume to dilute ion concentrations. The document provides examples of plant species that exhibit different tolerance mechanisms and strategies to mitigate the effects of salinity on crops.
TECHNICAL BULLETIN - FASCINATE THE IDEAL HERBICIDE RESISTANCE PARTNERUPL
This Technical Bulletin provides
information to facilitate the understanding of the growing herbicide resistance of weeds, as well as the consequences of this problem.
ABSTRACT- Laccase is multicopper oxidases that are widely distributed among plants, insects, fungi and bacteria. Pollution increased with the
time day by day, laccase is an oxido-reductase which plays a significant role in remediation. These enzyme catalyze and one-electron oxidation of a
wide variety of organic and inorganic substrate including mono-, di-, and poly-phenols, amino-phenols, metho-oxyphenols, aromatic amines, and
ascorbate, with the concomitant four electron reduction of oxygen to water. Present study on their use in several industrial application, includes dye
decolorization, detoxification of environmental pollutants and revalorization of waste and waste water etc. this review helps to understand the properties
of these improvement enzymes for efficient utilization for its biotechnological and environmental applications. Now we provide a brief discussion
of this interesting group of enzymes, increase knowledge of which will promote laccase based industrial process in future.
Keywords: Laccase, Biodegradation, Bioremediation and Dye decolorization
The study investigated the rhizosphere microbial community of white clover (Trifolium repens) to identify bacteria with nitrogen-fixing, cellulolytic, and antibiotic functions. Soil was collected from the rhizosphere and metagenomic DNA was extracted. Six bacterial isolates were discovered to produce cellulase enzymes, fix nitrogen, and synthesize antimicrobials. Analysis identified the isolates as Streptomyces species. Metagenomic data showed the rhizosphere had high biodiversity and the highest concentrations of relevant functional bacteria. This supports the unique ability of white clover to colonize nutrient-poor soils.
This document summarizes a seminar presentation on the effect of soil management practices on soil enzyme activities. It begins with an introduction to soil enzymes, including their functions, classifications, sources and importance. It then discusses soil enzymes as biological indicators of soil quality. Various methods for measuring enzyme activity are also outlined. The presentation examines the effects of different soil management practices like crop rotation, shifting cultivation, tillage practices and soil amendments on specific soil enzyme activities based on findings from previous studies. Crop rotation was found to influence urease and arylsulphatase activity, while shifting cultivation increased dehydrogenase and urease activity in older jhum fallows due to higher organic matter and nutrients.
Kern, John - Transgenic Salt Tolerance ReviewJohn Kern
This document summarizes research on engineering agricultural plants for improved salt tolerance through genetic engineering. It discusses genes from model organisms like Arabidopsis and yeast that improve salt tolerance when transferred to crop plants. Genes from halophytic plants, which are naturally salt tolerant, are also discussed. The document outlines past research and calls for future work, including combining multiple salt tolerance genes, comparative analysis of similar genes, and further research on halophytes and the biological costs of salt tolerance.
Plant growth promoting characterization of soil bacteria isolated from petrol...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
Abstract— Contaminant-degrading bacteria can be included among the plant-growth promoting bacteria; because the presence of contaminants, in general produce negatively effects on plant’s growth; thus, the elimination of the inhibiting contaminants will benefit them. Although contaminant-degrading strains have been traditionally isolated from various environments; the number of studies that reported the isolation and identification of soil bacteria with contaminant- degrading abilities have increased. The aim of this study was to characterized microbial strains isolated from petroleum contaminated soil by plant growth promotion traits to recommend them as potential bioinoculants. In this work, five of the six soil isolates were classified as Indole Acetic Acid higher producers and only one of them as lower producer. Sporosarcina aquimarina strain -Q3 and Bacillus cereus strain +F2 tested in Axonopus affinis plantlets bioassay, showed that these isolates were the most effective promoters of this plant species; therefore, these soil bacteria with possible hydrocarbon degradation ability could be considered as potential bioinoculants and can be recommended with a practical importance for the rhizoremediation of petroleum contaminated sites and plant growth promotion.
This document discusses a study that screened fungal rot isolates from cocoa for their ability to dissolve phosphate and grow on different media. Nine fungal rot isolates were collected from cocoa plants and tested for phosphate dissolving ability in Pikovskaya broth media using a spectrophotometer. Isolate BPB had the highest ability to dissolve phosphate, followed by isolates JT, BPG, and BPE1. The isolates were also tested for growth on three solid media - Potato Dextrose Agar, Malt Extract Agar, and Malt Peptone Agar. Malt Peptone Agar best supported the fungal mycelial growth compared to the other two media.
Soil enzymes play an important role in decomposing organic matter and releasing nutrients. They are produced by microorganisms, plant roots, and residues. Common soil enzymes include amylase, catalase, proteases, and urease. Amylase breaks down starch, catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide, proteases break down proteins, and urease breaks down urea. Soil enzyme activities can be measured to assess microbial activity, soil health, and the impacts of pollutants.
4 ijhaf feb-2018-2-effects of cd on microbial propertiesAI Publications
Plants have mechanisms for accumulation, tolerance or alleviation of high levels of heavy metals in contaminated soil. Some contaminants can be absorbed by the plants and are then broken down by plant enzymes. The objective of this particular study was measure the potential activities of three enzymes (dehydrogenase, protease and phosphatase) in the alfalfa rhizospheres under the stress at different concentrations of cadmium salts, and inoculated different biofertilizers strains of S. meliloti and coinoculated with Trichoderma strains. As well as pH, NaCl, CaCO3 tolerance and antibiotic resistance were investigated. The results show that the growth rate of sinorhizobial strains decreased with increasing of NaCl and CaCO3 concentration. Sinorhizobial strains grew in environments of pH ranged between5.5-7.5. There was variable response to antibiotic of all sinorhizobial strains. As well it was clearly showed that Cdso4 reduced the activity of phosphatase. Trichoderma harzianum stimulate the enzyme activity more than Trichoderma viride.
DOI:10.21276/ijlssr.2016.2.4.27
ABSTRACT- Contamination of soil by heavy metals is an ecological problem on a global level, this contamination
affects agricultural crops in the area concerned. In the present study, Copper, Zinc and Chromium being heavy metals
have been assessed for their injurious effects on seed germination and seedling growth of Trigonella foenum-graceum L.
solutions of the heavy metals were prepared in concentrations ranging from1,3,5,10,50,100,200,300,500ppm for irrigating
the seeds of the crop to be germinated in Petri-dishes for seven days. The young seedlings were studied for their response
based on seed vigour index, length of radicle, length of plumule and fresh weight against seeds germinated using distilled
water as control. It was observed that toxic effect of heavy metals on fenugreek growth was as follows: Cr>Cu>Zn on the
basis of a decrease in germination percentage and overall poor health of the seedling. Key-words- Chromium, Copper, Zinc, Germination, Trigonella foenum-graceum L., Toxicity
Biodegradation of dichlorovos (organophosphate pesticide) in soil by bacteria...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a study that investigated the potential for microbial isolates to biodegrade the organophosphate pesticide dichlorvos in contaminated agricultural soil. A bacterial consortium composed of four strains (Proteus vulgaris, Vibrio sp., Serratia sp., and Acinetobacter sp.) was isolated from soil contaminated with dichlorvos. Both the consortium and individual strains were able to use dichlorvos as their sole carbon source and remove it from the soil. The consortium achieved greater removal of dichlorvos from soil amended with NPK fertilizer compared to NH4NO3 or KH2PO4. The results indicate that these bacterial isolates have potential for bioremediating soils contaminated
Biosynthesis and Degradation of Carotenoids in Ornamental Crops with specific...IJEAB
Carotenoids are lipophilic secondary metabolites derived from the isoprenoid pathway, accumulated in most plant organs and widely used as an antioxidant. Carotenoids synthesized in chloroplasts are essential for protecting tissues against photo-oxidative damage in the green tissues of higher plants. The importance of carotenoids for plant growth and development is evident since at least two major phytohormones, strigolactones and abscisic acid, are derived from carotenoid precursors. In flowers, carotenoids synthesized in the chromoplasts provide colour to the petals, ranging from yellow to red, in order to attract pollinators and determines the commercial value of ornamental plants. On analysis in chrysanthemum, β, ɛ-carotenoids, lutein and its derivatives, reflecting the high expression levels of lycopene ɛ-cyclase (LCYE) were found in yellow petals compared to the ratio of β, β-carotenoids to total carotenoids found in leaves reflecting the high expression levels of lycopene β-cyclase (LCYB). Petals of the yellow-flowered cultivar Yellow Paragon showed increased accumulation and drastic componential changes of carotenoids as they mature, compared to petals of the white-flowered cultivar Paragon that showed drastically decreased carotenoid content during petal development.The white petals of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) contain a factor that inhibits the accumulation of carotenoids. All the white-flowered chrysanthemum cultivars tested showed high levels of CmCCD4a transcript in their petals, whereas most of the yellow flowered cultivars showed extremely low levels indicating that in white petals of chrysanthemums, carotenoids are synthesized but subsequently degraded into colourless compounds, which results in the white colour. Studying the regulatory mechanisms underlying carotenoid accumulation in ornamental plants at the molecular level will help in producing novel coloured cultivars by plant transformation.
here in this presentation include the most important decomposers in the soil environment and their activity in improving soil health and providing foods for other microorganisms.
Herbicide degradation in soil and plants......POOJITHA K
This document discusses the fate and degradation of herbicides in soil and plants. It explains that after a herbicide is applied, it can be degraded through various mechanisms in soil like adsorption, leaching, volatility, photodecomposition, chemical decomposition, and microbial degradation. The factors that affect a herbicide's fate in soil are environmental conditions like rainfall and microbial population as well as characteristics of the spray application. In plants, herbicides can be absorbed through leaves, stems, or roots and translocated through the xylem or phloem. They are then metabolized through processes like oxidation, hydroxylation, hydrolysis, dealkylation, conjugation, and ring cleavage. The document provides details on each of
Role of microbes in nutrient mobilization, transformation in fertilizer use e...Jayvir Solanki
This study evaluated the effect of different biofertilizer treatments on the growth and nutrient uptake of mulberry plants. Key findings:
1. Co-inoculation of mulberry plants with nitrogen fixing, phosphate solubilizing, and potash mobilizing microbes along with 100% recommended NPK fertilizer doses led to the highest growth and nutrient uptake.
2. Treatments involving 75-100% recommended NPK doses along with combinations of different biofertilizers also improved mulberry growth and soil fertility compared to the control or individual biofertilizer treatments.
3. Co-inoculation with VAM fungi or potassium mobilizing bacteria along with reduced NPK doses further enhanced mulberry
Xenobiotics and Microbial and Biotechnological approacheshanugoudaPatil
This document discusses xenobiotics and biotechnological approaches to remediating them. It defines xenobiotics as foreign compounds found within organisms. Environmental xenobiotics include pollutants like pesticides, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Recalcitrant xenobiotics persist in the environment and resist degradation. The document outlines genetic engineering approaches used to create genetically modified microbes (GEMs) that can biodegrade various xenobiotics through enhanced or novel metabolic pathways. GEMs show promise for more effective bioremediation of contaminated environments.
This document discusses plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and their ability to solubilize inorganic phosphate. Some key points:
- PGPR are bacteria that live in the rhizosphere and provide benefits to plants. An important function is solubilizing insoluble phosphate minerals making phosphorus available for plant uptake.
- Common insoluble phosphates include tricalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, and hydroxyapatite. Bacteria secrete organic acids like lactic acid and acetic acid to solubilize these minerals.
- Successful phosphate solubilizing bacteria include species from Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Rhizobium genera. Screening methods involve checking for clearing zones
The Mode of Action of herbicides is important for understanding the management , classification and hierarchy of the herbicides. It also provides an insight into herbicide resistance , which continues to be a problem in sustainable agricultural management .
This document summarizes microbial degradation of various xenobiotics and pollutants. It discusses how microbes like bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes are able to degrade compounds like hydrocarbons, PAHs, pesticides, dyes and other xenobiotics. The microbes produce enzymes that allow them to use these compounds as carbon and energy sources and breakdown the compounds into simpler molecules like carbon dioxide and water.
ABSTRACT- The isolation of phosphate solubilizing bacterial strains exhibiting high ability to solubilize soil
phosphorus is a matter of great interest with high applicability. The use of phosphate solubilizing bacteria as inoculants
simultaneously increases phosphate uptake by the plant and increase crop yield. Strains from the genera Pseudomonas,
Bacillus and Rhizobium species are among the most powerful phosphate solubilizers. In this present study different
cultivated soil samples were investigated for the isolation of phosphate solubilizing bacteria by Pikovskayas agar media.
We were found 2 bacterial strains SS1 and SS2 as a phosphate solubilizing bacteria. Both two bacteria are characterized
by morphological and biochemical tests. The strain SS2 was confirmed as a Bacillus megaterium. Then Bacillus
megaterium is used for the production of longer sustainable phosphate solbulizing biofertilizer. After an interval of 180
days it has 5x1013 CFU count.
Key-words- Phosphate solubilization; Soil bacteria; Plant-growth-promoting bacteria; Rhizobacteria; Phosphates;
Biofertilizer
Antibacterial activity of 2 (2-hydroxy phenylimino) acetic acidAlexander Decker
This document summarizes a study that investigated the antibacterial activity of 2-(2-hydroxy phenylimino) acetic acid [2-(2-HP-AA)] against various pathogenic bacteria. Various concentrations of the compound were tested against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus mutans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. A concentration of 70mM completely inhibited the growth of E. coli, S. aureus and S. agalactiae after 24 hours, while having no effect on the other bacteria tested. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the compound was determined to be 70mM
El documento describe un estudio sobre la solubilización de roca fosfórica por bacterias del suelo utilizando diferentes fuentes de carbono. Se aislaron 147 cepas bacterianas de suelos y raíces de cultivos con bajos niveles de fósforo disponible. La solubilización de roca fosfórica depende de la producción y secreción de ácidos orgánicos como el ácido gluconico y 2-cetogluconico. La fuente de carbono influye en la solubilización, siendo mayor con glucosa que con fructosa
1) The document discusses using fungi like Aspergillus niger to improve phosphorus uptake in barley by solubilizing sparingly soluble phosphorus sources like rock phosphate.
2) Experiments showed A. niger can break down rock phosphate and other phosphorus minerals by producing organic acids that release plant-available phosphorus.
3) Inoculating barley with A. niger decreased plant biomass but increased the amount of phosphorus plants could acquire from insoluble sources like rock phosphate.
This document summarizes a seminar presentation on the effect of soil management practices on soil enzyme activities. It begins with an introduction to soil enzymes, including their functions, classifications, sources and importance. It then discusses soil enzymes as biological indicators of soil quality. Various methods for measuring enzyme activity are also outlined. The presentation examines the effects of different soil management practices like crop rotation, shifting cultivation, tillage practices and soil amendments on specific soil enzyme activities based on findings from previous studies. Crop rotation was found to influence urease and arylsulphatase activity, while shifting cultivation increased dehydrogenase and urease activity in older jhum fallows due to higher organic matter and nutrients.
Kern, John - Transgenic Salt Tolerance ReviewJohn Kern
This document summarizes research on engineering agricultural plants for improved salt tolerance through genetic engineering. It discusses genes from model organisms like Arabidopsis and yeast that improve salt tolerance when transferred to crop plants. Genes from halophytic plants, which are naturally salt tolerant, are also discussed. The document outlines past research and calls for future work, including combining multiple salt tolerance genes, comparative analysis of similar genes, and further research on halophytes and the biological costs of salt tolerance.
Plant growth promoting characterization of soil bacteria isolated from petrol...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
Abstract— Contaminant-degrading bacteria can be included among the plant-growth promoting bacteria; because the presence of contaminants, in general produce negatively effects on plant’s growth; thus, the elimination of the inhibiting contaminants will benefit them. Although contaminant-degrading strains have been traditionally isolated from various environments; the number of studies that reported the isolation and identification of soil bacteria with contaminant- degrading abilities have increased. The aim of this study was to characterized microbial strains isolated from petroleum contaminated soil by plant growth promotion traits to recommend them as potential bioinoculants. In this work, five of the six soil isolates were classified as Indole Acetic Acid higher producers and only one of them as lower producer. Sporosarcina aquimarina strain -Q3 and Bacillus cereus strain +F2 tested in Axonopus affinis plantlets bioassay, showed that these isolates were the most effective promoters of this plant species; therefore, these soil bacteria with possible hydrocarbon degradation ability could be considered as potential bioinoculants and can be recommended with a practical importance for the rhizoremediation of petroleum contaminated sites and plant growth promotion.
This document discusses a study that screened fungal rot isolates from cocoa for their ability to dissolve phosphate and grow on different media. Nine fungal rot isolates were collected from cocoa plants and tested for phosphate dissolving ability in Pikovskaya broth media using a spectrophotometer. Isolate BPB had the highest ability to dissolve phosphate, followed by isolates JT, BPG, and BPE1. The isolates were also tested for growth on three solid media - Potato Dextrose Agar, Malt Extract Agar, and Malt Peptone Agar. Malt Peptone Agar best supported the fungal mycelial growth compared to the other two media.
Soil enzymes play an important role in decomposing organic matter and releasing nutrients. They are produced by microorganisms, plant roots, and residues. Common soil enzymes include amylase, catalase, proteases, and urease. Amylase breaks down starch, catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide, proteases break down proteins, and urease breaks down urea. Soil enzyme activities can be measured to assess microbial activity, soil health, and the impacts of pollutants.
4 ijhaf feb-2018-2-effects of cd on microbial propertiesAI Publications
Plants have mechanisms for accumulation, tolerance or alleviation of high levels of heavy metals in contaminated soil. Some contaminants can be absorbed by the plants and are then broken down by plant enzymes. The objective of this particular study was measure the potential activities of three enzymes (dehydrogenase, protease and phosphatase) in the alfalfa rhizospheres under the stress at different concentrations of cadmium salts, and inoculated different biofertilizers strains of S. meliloti and coinoculated with Trichoderma strains. As well as pH, NaCl, CaCO3 tolerance and antibiotic resistance were investigated. The results show that the growth rate of sinorhizobial strains decreased with increasing of NaCl and CaCO3 concentration. Sinorhizobial strains grew in environments of pH ranged between5.5-7.5. There was variable response to antibiotic of all sinorhizobial strains. As well it was clearly showed that Cdso4 reduced the activity of phosphatase. Trichoderma harzianum stimulate the enzyme activity more than Trichoderma viride.
DOI:10.21276/ijlssr.2016.2.4.27
ABSTRACT- Contamination of soil by heavy metals is an ecological problem on a global level, this contamination
affects agricultural crops in the area concerned. In the present study, Copper, Zinc and Chromium being heavy metals
have been assessed for their injurious effects on seed germination and seedling growth of Trigonella foenum-graceum L.
solutions of the heavy metals were prepared in concentrations ranging from1,3,5,10,50,100,200,300,500ppm for irrigating
the seeds of the crop to be germinated in Petri-dishes for seven days. The young seedlings were studied for their response
based on seed vigour index, length of radicle, length of plumule and fresh weight against seeds germinated using distilled
water as control. It was observed that toxic effect of heavy metals on fenugreek growth was as follows: Cr>Cu>Zn on the
basis of a decrease in germination percentage and overall poor health of the seedling. Key-words- Chromium, Copper, Zinc, Germination, Trigonella foenum-graceum L., Toxicity
Biodegradation of dichlorovos (organophosphate pesticide) in soil by bacteria...Alexander Decker
This document summarizes a study that investigated the potential for microbial isolates to biodegrade the organophosphate pesticide dichlorvos in contaminated agricultural soil. A bacterial consortium composed of four strains (Proteus vulgaris, Vibrio sp., Serratia sp., and Acinetobacter sp.) was isolated from soil contaminated with dichlorvos. Both the consortium and individual strains were able to use dichlorvos as their sole carbon source and remove it from the soil. The consortium achieved greater removal of dichlorvos from soil amended with NPK fertilizer compared to NH4NO3 or KH2PO4. The results indicate that these bacterial isolates have potential for bioremediating soils contaminated
Biosynthesis and Degradation of Carotenoids in Ornamental Crops with specific...IJEAB
Carotenoids are lipophilic secondary metabolites derived from the isoprenoid pathway, accumulated in most plant organs and widely used as an antioxidant. Carotenoids synthesized in chloroplasts are essential for protecting tissues against photo-oxidative damage in the green tissues of higher plants. The importance of carotenoids for plant growth and development is evident since at least two major phytohormones, strigolactones and abscisic acid, are derived from carotenoid precursors. In flowers, carotenoids synthesized in the chromoplasts provide colour to the petals, ranging from yellow to red, in order to attract pollinators and determines the commercial value of ornamental plants. On analysis in chrysanthemum, β, ɛ-carotenoids, lutein and its derivatives, reflecting the high expression levels of lycopene ɛ-cyclase (LCYE) were found in yellow petals compared to the ratio of β, β-carotenoids to total carotenoids found in leaves reflecting the high expression levels of lycopene β-cyclase (LCYB). Petals of the yellow-flowered cultivar Yellow Paragon showed increased accumulation and drastic componential changes of carotenoids as they mature, compared to petals of the white-flowered cultivar Paragon that showed drastically decreased carotenoid content during petal development.The white petals of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) contain a factor that inhibits the accumulation of carotenoids. All the white-flowered chrysanthemum cultivars tested showed high levels of CmCCD4a transcript in their petals, whereas most of the yellow flowered cultivars showed extremely low levels indicating that in white petals of chrysanthemums, carotenoids are synthesized but subsequently degraded into colourless compounds, which results in the white colour. Studying the regulatory mechanisms underlying carotenoid accumulation in ornamental plants at the molecular level will help in producing novel coloured cultivars by plant transformation.
here in this presentation include the most important decomposers in the soil environment and their activity in improving soil health and providing foods for other microorganisms.
Herbicide degradation in soil and plants......POOJITHA K
This document discusses the fate and degradation of herbicides in soil and plants. It explains that after a herbicide is applied, it can be degraded through various mechanisms in soil like adsorption, leaching, volatility, photodecomposition, chemical decomposition, and microbial degradation. The factors that affect a herbicide's fate in soil are environmental conditions like rainfall and microbial population as well as characteristics of the spray application. In plants, herbicides can be absorbed through leaves, stems, or roots and translocated through the xylem or phloem. They are then metabolized through processes like oxidation, hydroxylation, hydrolysis, dealkylation, conjugation, and ring cleavage. The document provides details on each of
Role of microbes in nutrient mobilization, transformation in fertilizer use e...Jayvir Solanki
This study evaluated the effect of different biofertilizer treatments on the growth and nutrient uptake of mulberry plants. Key findings:
1. Co-inoculation of mulberry plants with nitrogen fixing, phosphate solubilizing, and potash mobilizing microbes along with 100% recommended NPK fertilizer doses led to the highest growth and nutrient uptake.
2. Treatments involving 75-100% recommended NPK doses along with combinations of different biofertilizers also improved mulberry growth and soil fertility compared to the control or individual biofertilizer treatments.
3. Co-inoculation with VAM fungi or potassium mobilizing bacteria along with reduced NPK doses further enhanced mulberry
Xenobiotics and Microbial and Biotechnological approacheshanugoudaPatil
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1. Fungi in the rhizosphere produce trichothecene metabolites that can both promote plant growth and inhibit it, depending on the specific molecule.
2. These molecules may modulate plant defense systems against pathogens while also having biochemical effects in animal cells like oxidative stress and apoptosis.
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Avs effect of nutrients on citrus diseasesAMOL SHITOLE
This document discusses the relationship between plant nutrition and disease resistance. It outlines that proper nutrition can reduce disease severity through several mechanisms: 1) forming mechanical barriers in cell walls, 2) synthesizing defensive compounds, and 3) enhancing biological or chemical control of pathogens. Several key nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and zinc are described in terms of how they impact plant health and disease resistance. Maintaining balanced macronutrient and micronutrient levels in plants is important for productivity and inhibiting diseases.
The effect of rhizosphere growth promoter bacteria on enzymes activities of H...Innspub Net
Soils and accumulated materials are resources of heavy metals, which are available for absorbance by plants. One
of the potential methods for eliminating heavy metals from polluted places includes usage of resistance creature
to metals which are able to accumulate and absorb high amount of material. Present study was carried out in a
greenhouse format in completely accidental plots with 4 times repetition and 2 plants of Hordeum vulgare and Brassica napus. This experiment was done in 2011 in Islamic Azad University, Karaj branch. Variance analysis results showed significant effect of pb levels, growth promoters bacteria and interaction effects of them on capabilities of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) enzymes (P<0.01). Get the full articles at: http://www.innspub.net/volume-4-number-10-may-2014/
The effect of rhizosphere growth promoter bacteria on enzymes activities of H...Innspub Net
Soils and accumulated materials are resources of heavy metals, which are available for absorbance by plants. One
of the potential methods for eliminating heavy metals from polluted places includes usage of resistance creature
to metals which are able to accumulate and absorb high amount of material. Present study was carried out in a
greenhouse format in completely accidental plots with 4 times repetition and 2 plants of Hordeum vulgare and Brassica napus. This experiment was done in 2011 in Islamic Azad University, Karaj branch. Variance analysis results showed significant effect of pb levels, growth promoters bacteria and interaction effects of them on capabilities of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) enzymes (P<0.01).
Similar to Appl. environ. microbiol. 1999-altomare-2926-33 (20)
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Appl. environ. microbiol. 1999-altomare-2926-33
1. Solubilization of Phosphates and
Micronutrients by the
Plant-Growth-Promoting and Biocontrol
Fungus Trichoderma harzianum Rifai
1295-22
C. Altomare, W. A. Norvell, T. Björkman and G. E. Harman
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 1999, 65(7):2926.
Updated information and services can be found at:
http://aem.asm.org/content/65/7/2926
These include:
REFERENCES
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3. VOL. 65, 1999 MINERAL SOLUBILIZATION BY T. HARZIANUM RIFAI 2927
sterile soil (31), it is not thought to be a side effect of suppres-sion
of disease or minor plant pathogens. Other mechanisms,
including production of hormone-like metabolites and release
of nutrients from soil or organic matter, have been proposed
(19, 31). However, there is almost no experimental data on the
ability of Trichoderma spp. to solubilize plant nutrients. Should
these fungi be found to possess solubilizing abilities, this mech-anism
might account for at least some of their plant-growth-promoting
and biocontrol abilities and would provide new op-portunities
to study their interactions with plants. If some
strains of Trichoderma possess the ability to solubilize many
different nutrients, it would not be surprising to find that mul-tiple
mechanisms are involved, even for a single element. For
example, solubilization of iron may involve reduction from
Fe31 to Fe21 as well as chelation of Fe31 by siderophores or
chelating agents (9). Therefore, studies of this general mech-anism
will probably require the purification of large numbers
of biomolecules and the subsequent study of their interactions
with both plants and microbes.
The purpose of the present work was to determine whether
T. harzianum is able to solubilize various nutrients in vitro. In
this study, we have demonstrated for the first time that this
fungus is able to solubilize several sparingly soluble minerals
and that with some elements, chelating agents are involved.
This study provides a basis for future detailed studies on the
numerous specific biomolecules involved in these interactions
and, subsequently, how they affect both microbial and plant
growth.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
T. harzianum strain. The strain of Trichoderma used for this study was T.
harzianum Rifai 1295-22 (T-22). T-22 is an effective biocontrol agent of several
soilborne plant diseases, including Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium root rots
(14). Strain T-22 has beneficial effects on plant growth and vigor and on the
development and efficiency of the root systems of several crops including bean,
potato, and corn (4, 14).
Solubilization of minerals in liquid culture. For solubilization experiments,
the following insoluble or sparingly soluble minerals were used: MnO2, Fe2O3,
CuO, granular metallic zinc, and rock phosphate containing about 32% phos-phorus
(mostly as calcium phosphate). The various minerals (50 mg) were added
to 100 ml of a sucrose-yeast extract (SY) medium (30 g of sucrose and 1 g of yeast
extract per liter of distilled water) in 250-ml Erlenmeyer flasks. The pH of the
medium after autoclave sterilization (121°C for 15 min) was 6.2 to 6.5. Flasks
were inoculated with 1 ml of a conidial suspension of T-22 containing 106
conidia/ml. The cultures were incubated on a rotary shaker (160 rpm) at 25°C for
5 days. Three replicate flasks were sampled each day. Culture filtrates were
filtered in turn through no. 5 paper (Whatman, Maidstone, England) and 0.45-
and 0.22-mm-pore-size filters of mixed esters of cellulose (Millipore, Bedford,
Mass.), and the pH of the filtrates was measured. Noninoculated flasks, pro-cessed
in the same way, were used as checks. Clear culture filtrates were acidified
with a few drops of concentrated HCl to prevent the loss of soluble ions and
microbial growth until the analyses were completed. Acidified filtrates, or dilu-tions
thereof, were analyzed by inductively coupled argon plasma emission spec-troscopy
(ICP) on a Jarrell-Ash model Trace Analyzer spectrometer, using an
axial plasma and simultaneous acquisition of emission data for 24 elements
including Ca, Fe, Mn, P, and Zn.
Solubilization of minerals by cell-free culture filtrates. Sterile filtrates of three
replicate 100-ml cultures of T-22 on SY medium and of three noninoculated
check flasks incubated for 5 days at 25°C on a rotary shaker (160 rpm) were
obtained by 0.22-mm-pore-size-filter sterilization. In some experiments, filtrates
from each flask were divided into three 30-ml aliquots that were autoclaved at
121°C for 20 min, digested with 50 mg of protease K (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) per
ml for 4 h at 37°C, or stored at 280°C. Then 5 ml of filtrate from each of the
three above treatments was dispensed into oven-sterilized test tubes containing
5 mg of CuO, Fe2O3, MnO2, granular metallic zinc, or rock phosphate. Tubes
without minerals were prepared in the same way to provide the initial content of
elements in medium and culture filtrate (controls). The tubes were incubated at
room temperature for 48 h on a reciprocal shaker. The broths were then filtered
through 0.22-mm-pore-size filters, and the filtrates were analyzed by ICP.
Analysis of organic acids. The culture filtrates were analyzed for the presence
of oxalic acid, citric acid, DL-malic acid, succinic acid, DL-lactic acid, and fumaric
acid by high-performance thin-layer chromatography. Both raw and 10-fold-concentrated
culture filtrates were acidified to pH 2.0 with 0.1 N HCl and then
applied, along with standard solutions of the above organic acids, to precoated
cellulose plates (10 by 10 cm; thickness, 0.1 mm [Merck, Darmstadt, Germany]).
The plates were developed with diethyl ether-formic acid-water (70:20:10), and
acids were visualized with 0.045% bromophenol blue in 95% ethanol. The de-tection
limit of the method was 10 mg/ml for all the acids analyzed.
Chemical assay for detection of chelators in culture filtrates. The chelating
activity of T-22 culture filtrates was assayed by the method described by Shenker
et al. (27). This method is based on the measurement of the equilibrium con-centration
of the Cu-CAS (chrome azurol S) complex in the presence of other
chelating substances. In the presence of complexing substances in the filtrates,
the Cu is competitively lost from the Cu-CAS complex and a decrease in absor-bance
occurs. The method was adapted to use 96-well microtitration plates for
spectrophotometric measurements. To avoid interference due to the presence of
complexing substances (impurities, proteins, and small organic residues) in the
SY medium, T-22 was grown in modified Richard’s solution (RMT) [containing,
in grams per liter, KNO3, 10; KH2PO4, 5; MgSO4, 1.3; FeCl3, 0.02; sucrose, 20;
ZnSO4 z 7 H2O, 0.0035; CuSO4 z 5 H2O, 0.0004; MnSO4 z H2O, 0.00031; and
(NH4)6Mo7O24 z 4 H2O, 0.00013; adjusted to pH 7.0 with NaOH]. Culture
filtrates were sampled daily over a 7-day period.
A stock solution of the Cu-CAS reagent was prepared with 200 mMCuCl2, 210
mM CAS (Sigma), and 40 mM (N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) (Sig-ma)
with the pH adjusted to 5.7 with NaOH. The reagent solution and the
culture filtrate were mixed in a 1:1 ratio in microtitration plate wells to a total
volume of 100 ml, and the absorbance at 540 nm was measured. Noninoculated
culture broth was used as a control.
Chromatographic separation of chelating metabolites. Culture filtrates (25
ml) of T-22 grown in the presence of either Fe2O3 or MnO2 were lyophilized and
redissolved in 5 ml of 20 mM NaCl. Concentrated culture filtrates, supplemented
or not with an Fe21 or Mn21 salt (0.1 mM FeSO4 z 7 H2O or 0.3 mM MnSO4 z
H2O), were then fractionated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and
their elution profiles were compared with the elution profile of the noninocu-lated
culture medium processed in the same way.
A Bio-Gel P-2 (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.) polyacrylamide gel column (20 by
300 mm) was packed as specified by the manufacturer. The column was loaded
with 1 ml of sample and eluted with 20 mM NaCl at a flow rate of 30 ml/h (about
10 cm/h). Fractions (3 ml) were collected every 6 min, acidified with concentrated
HCl, and analyzed by ICP.
Fe31 and Cu21 reduction activity of culture filtrates. Cultures of T-22 in RMT
were grown, sampled in triplicate, and processed as described above. Reduction
of Fe31 and Cu21 was assayed by the colorimetric reaction of the reduced forms
(Fe21 and Cu1) with disodium-bathophenanthrolinedisulfonic acid (BPDS;
Sigma) and disodium 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolinedisulfonic
acid (BCDS, Sigma), respectively (30). The reduction of Fe31 and Cu21 was
quantified by spectrophotometric measurement of the Fe(II)-BPDS and Cu(I)-
BCDS complexes. Assays were performed in 96-well plates. Each well contained
(in a total volume of 100 ml) 30 ml of culture filtrate, 0.2 mM CaSO4, 5 mMMES
buffer (pH 5.5), and either 0.1 mM Fe(III)-EDTA and 0.3 mM disodium BPDS
for quantification of Fe31 reduction, or 0.2 mM CuSO4, 0.6 mM trisodium citrate
and 0.4 mM disodium BCDS for quantification of Cu21 reduction. Noninocu-lated
culture medium was used as a control. The increase in the absorbance [at
540 nm for Fe(II)-BPDS and 492 nm for Cu(I)-BCDS] of the assay solutions was
measured after 4 h of incubation at 37°C in the dark. Preliminary experiments
demonstrated that reduction of both Cu(II) and Fe(III) increased linearly with
time during these assays.
RESULTS
Solubilization of minerals in liquid culture and by cell-free
culture filtrates. Cultures were sampled daily for 5 days of
growth. During this period, T-22 reached the maximal level of
biomass in the sucrose-yeast medium, as determined by the dry
weight of cultures (data not shown). T-22 was able to solubilize
MnO2, Zn (Fig. 1), and rock phosphate (Fig. 2) in the culture
medium. In all the cultures, the pH values never fell below 5.0,
and in cultures containing MnO2, the pH rose from 6.8 to 7.4.
Data on solubilization of CuO and Fe2O3 in liquid culture
were not conclusive because of highly variable data due to
initial partial solubility of these minerals. Solubilization of rock
phosphate was indicated by an increase in the concentration of
soluble Ca (Fig. 2). However, the level of phosphorus in the
culture filtrate decreased, probably due to uptake by T-22. In
cultures supplemented with rock phosphate, the solubility of
Fe, as well as that of Ca, increased (up to fivefold [0.1 mg/ml])
over the level in the control flasks, as result of Fe impurities in
the rock phosphate (data not shown).
Experiments were also conducted to determine the ability of
cell-free culture filtrates to solubilize various materials. Cell-
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4. 2928 ALTOMARE ET AL. APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL.
FIG. 1. Concentrations of Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn in T-22 cultures (F) and in control flasks (E) of an SY medium supplemented with CuO, Fe2O3, MnO2, and metallic
zinc, respectively. The dashed line shows the pH of the cultures. Error bars indicate standard deviations of three replicate determinations.
free culture filtrates were able to solubilize every material
tested (Fig. 3). However, the control filtrate consisting of non-inoculated
SY medium also was able to solubilize the same
materials. SY medium alone released significantly more Cu
from CuO and more P from rock phosphate than did the
cell-free culture filtrates. In every other case, the filtrates re-leased
significantly more soluble materials than did SY me-dium
(Fig. 3).
To study the heat stability and the possible proteinaceous
nature of the substances that solubilized the various materials,
the solubilizing activity of autoclaved or proteinase K-treated
culture filtrates was assayed in comparison with the crude
culture filtrate (Fig. 3). With the exception of MnO2, no dif-ferences
in solubilizing capability were found among untreated
and treated filtrates, suggesting that solubilizing substances are
heat stable and not proteinaceous. Fe2O3, MnO2, metallic zinc,
and rock phosphate were all solubilized by cell-free culture
filtrates. The high level of Cu detected in noninoculated fil-trates
in the presence of CuO is consistent with the previous
observation that this mineral is rather soluble in the medium.
Production of organic acids and chelating metabolites.
Oxalic acid, citric acid, DL-malic acid, succinic acid, DL-lactic
acid, and fumaric acid were not found in the culture filtrates at
the detection limit of 10 mg/ml. The chemical assay (Cu-CAS)
for chelating activity showed a decrease in the absorbance at
540 nm of the T-22 culture filtrates, indicating the presence of
complexing metabolites. The chelating activity was first de-tected
in 3-day-old culture filtrates, and its level did not change
(data not shown). However, the Cu-CAS assay only indicated
that chelating metabolites were produced in culture; it did not
provide any information about the actual state (free or che-lated)
of metal ions in the culture filtrates. For this reason, we
performed a GPC separation of the components of the culture
filtrates. In a preliminary experiment, this method proved to be
suitable to separate free Fe21 ions from EDTA-chelated Fe31
(data not shown). The chromatogram of the filtrates from
cultures supplemented with MnO2 showed one single exit peak
of Mn at the elution time of free ions (Mn21), while the
FIG. 2. Solubilization of rock phosphate. Concentrations of P and Ca in the
SY medium in the presence (1) or absence (2) of T-22 are shown. Error bars
indicate standard deviations of three replicate determinations.
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5. VOL. 65, 1999 MINERAL SOLUBILIZATION BY T. HARZIANUM RIFAI 2929
FIG. 3. Solubilization of CuO, Fe2O3, MnO2, metallic zinc (Zn), and rock phosphate (Rp) by cell-free culture filtrates of T-22 grown in SY medium (SYT) in
comparison with noninoculated medium filtrates (SY). Filtrates were either untreated, autoclaved (121°C for 20 min), or digested with protease K (50 mg/ml for 4 h
at 37°C). Inoculated SY medium not supplemented with any of the above minerals provided the basic levels of the various elements in culture filtrates. Error bars
indicate standard deviations of three replicate determinations.
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6. 2930 ALTOMARE ET AL. APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL.
FIG. 4. GPC of the culture filtrates of T-22 grown on SY medium ({) in the presence of Fe2O3 (top) or MnO2 (bottom). The exit of free Fe21 or Mn21 ions
occurred at an elution volume greater than 50 ml (E). When the filtrate SYFe was applied along with 0.1 mM FeSO4 z 7 H2O (n), an increase in the height of two
peaks at 25 and 40 ml (arrows) occurred as a result of the complexed state of the Fe ions.
chromatogram of the filtrates from cultures supplemented with
Fe2O3 showed two additional peaks, suggesting that Fe ions
were complexed by metabolites from T-22 (Fig. 4).
Fe31 and Cu21 reduction activity of culture filtrates. In
liquid culture, strain T-22 produced diffusible metabolites ca-pable
of reducing Fe(III) and Cu(II), as determined by the
formation of Fe(II)-BPDS and Cu(I)-BCDS complexes (Fig.
5). The level of reducing metabolites in culture filtrates paral-leled
the growth and weight increase of the cultures, reaching
a maximum on days 5 to 6 and decreasing later. Extensive
dialysis of the culture filtrates through a membrane with a
6,000 to 8,000-Da cutoff resulted in total loss of the Fe(III)-
reducing activity. This suggests that the T-22 Fe(III)-reducing
metabolite is either a small molecule or a larger molecule that
requires a small cofactor for activity. On the other hand,
Cu(II)-reducing activity was still present after dialysis, albeit at
a lower level (about 65% of the initial activity). Therefore, at
least a portion of copper-reducing activity is associated with a
macromolecule.
DISCUSSION
Most of the recent literature concerning microbial solubili-zation
of minerals in soil and their potential use for enhance-ment
of soil fertility deals with P-solubilizing bacteria and
vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. However, the ability of
a few filamentous nonmycorrhizal fungi, especially Aspergillus
spp. and Penicillium spp., to solubilize mineral nutrients has
also been shown (1, 17, 23), and a commercial formulation of
Penicillium bilaii Chalabuda has been registered in Canada as
a biological enhancer of plant nutrition (8).
The release of organic acids that both sequester cations and
acidify the microenvironment near roots is thought to be a
major mechanism of solubilization of P, as well as Mn, Fe, and
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7. VOL. 65, 1999 MINERAL SOLUBILIZATION BY T. HARZIANUM RIFAI 2931
FIG. 5. Fe(III) and Cu(II) reduction by T-22 culture filtrates. The amount of Fe(II)-BPDS or Cu(I)-BCDS was determined spectrophotometrically by the increase
of the absorbance (540 and 492 nm, respectively) after 4 h of incubation at 37°C (for more details, see the text).
Zn, by plants and non-vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
(8). However, it has been pointed out that in some instances
solubilization occurs in the absence of detectable chelating
agents or organic acids, mainly as a result of the acidification of
the medium (2, 18). In our study, oxalic acid, citric acid, DL-malic
acid, succinic acid, DL-lactic acid, and fumaric acid were
not detected in the culture filtrates of T-22. Furthermore,
under the experimental conditions used, solubilization of rock
phosphate, MnO2, Fe2
O3, and Zn occurred at very slightly
acidic or alkaline pH values. These data indicate that neither
reduction of pH nor production of simple organic acids ac-counted
for the solubilization of the various materials in this
study. Soluble P apparently was removed from the culture as
rapidly as it was solubilized and was sequestered in the T-22
mycelium. Halvorson et al. (13) suggest that continuous re-moval
of P from the solution and the consequent disturbance
of the equilibrium between insoluble and soluble P can account
for solubilization of P by fungi under alkaline conditions. A
major feature of strain T-22 is its capability to grow along roots
during their elongation, thus colonizing the whole root system
and benefiting the crop for its entire life (rhizosphere compe-tence)
(28). Therefore, P could be solubilized and stored in the
Trichoderma biomass to be released in a readily available form
in close proximity to the roots after lysis of the mycelium with
age. Interestingly, it has been reported that the phytopatho-genic
fungi Pythium and Rhizoctonia are unable to solubilize
phosphates (1). Thus, the high competitive efficiency of T-22 in
P uptake might play a role in the suppression of these plant
pathogens.
The analysis of the fractions obtained by GPC has shown
that compounds in T-22 culture filtrates are able to chelate
iron. Therefore, chelation accounts at least partially for solu-bilization
of this nutrient, whereas it does not seem to be
involved in the solubilization of manganese. With regard to the
chemical nature of the complexing substances, organic acids
were not detected in T-22 culture filtrates. However, besides
organic acids, several other metabolites or constituents of
fungi, such as peptides, proteins, phenolics, and chitin, might
exhibit complexing properties, and their production and in-volvement
in Fe chelation should be investigated. As far as we
are aware, hydroxamate siderophores, especially coprogens
and dimerum acid, are produced in other fungi but not Tricho-derma.
These compounds are potent chelators of iron (9, 22).
Fe-chelated coprogens and other hydroxamate siderophores
are taken up by plants and provide Fe to them (7). If similar
compounds are produced by T-22, they would be readily avail-able
to plants since the fungus is located on root surfaces.
Purification and characterization of the siderophores produced
by T-22 is under way. A major role in disease control and plant
growth enhancement has been proposed for siderophores pro-duced
by some biocontrol bacteria (21). Unlike bacterial sid-erophores,
the production of the Trichoderma metabolite(s)
able to chelate iron does not require Fe deficiency.
In the assimilatory process of metal ions, siderophores and
other chelating substances often act in association with a re-ductive
enzymatic mechanism. For instance, iron is absorbed in
the reduced form, Fe21, by root cells of nongrass plant species.
However, in well-aerated soils, the Fe(III) oxidation state of
Fe predominates, and it must be reduced to Fe(II) in order to
be taken up by plants in sufficient quantities for their metabolic
needs. Fe uptake by the roots is thought to be regulated by the
activity of a plasma membrane redox system, namely, Fe(III)
chelate reductase, which reduces Fe(III) from various Fe(III)
chelates to Fe(II). The Fe(III) chelate reductase also seems to
be capable of reducing other metals, such as Mn(III, IV) and
Cu(II), and its activity is stimulated by Fe and Cu deficiency
conditions (24). Furthermore, it is thought to play a general
role in the regulation of cation absorption by root cells (30).
Our data show that strain T-22 produces diffusible metabolites
capable of reducing Fe(III) and Cu(II). Similar to the produc-tion
of chelating substances, synthesis of reducing metabolites
appears to be a constitutive trait of T-22. Presumably, the Fe-and/
or Cu-reducing metabolite(s) also reduces Mn41 to the
soluble form, Mn21, since solubilization of MnO2 occurs in the
absence of either acidification or chelation. Bjo¨rkman et al. (4)
reported that T-22 was able to enhance the vigor of cold- and
toxicant-stressed maize seeds and to restore the vigor of hypo-chlorite-
treated seeds. Our findings are consistent with the
hypothesis that the beneficial effect of T-22 is related to its
ability to restore or prevent the oxidative damage of hypochlo-rite
by means of a reducing mechanism of some kind. Although
our data suggest that solubilization of Mn, and possibly of Fe
and Cu, occurs by means of a reducing mechanism, proteins
apparently are not involved. The reducing activity was pro-duced
extracellularly, and solubilization occurred even after
heat or proteinase K treatment of the culture filtrates. On the
other hand, at least the Cu(II)-reducing activity was not lost
after extensive dialysis of the culture filtrates (6,000 to 8,000-
Da cutoff), and this suggests the involvement of macromole-cules.
Although the reducing activity found in T-22 culture filtrates
accounts, at least partially, for solubilization of metal oxides,
solubilization of metallic zinc occurs by a different process. The
stable oxidation state for Zn is Zn21, which is the form re-
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8. 2932 ALTOMARE ET AL. APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL.
quired by plants (29) and fungi (26). Hence, solubilization of
metallic zinc (oxidation state 0) depends on its oxidation to
Zn21. T-22 proved to have the ability in culture to accelerate
the oxidative dissolution of metallic zinc, releasing Zn21. In
this case, the effect of the fungus may include the release of
complexing ligands which sequester Zn21, thereby increasing
the dissolution of metallic zinc in the culture medium.
While the importance of mineral nutrition for plant growth
and vigor is obvious, the role of nutrients, especially micronu-trients,
in plant disease resistance and root stress tolerance is
less well known but is gaining increasing recognition (12, 16).
Many of the micronutrients are required for polyphenol for-mation
and other aspects of phenolic metabolism, and hence
they are crucial for plant defense capabilities. Of the micronu-trients,
Mn may prove to be the most important in the devel-opment
of resistance of plants to both root and foliar diseases
of fungal origin. Manganese is required for several physiolog-ical
functions of plants such as photosynthesis, N metabolism
(especially reduction of nitrate), and synthesis of aromatic ring
compounds as precursors for some amino acids, hormones
(auxins), phenols, and lignin. As a consequence, it plays a
major role in the growth and disease resistance of plants. The
association of several plant diseases (e.g., take-all disease of
wheat, wilt of tomato, blast of rice, and common scab of po-tato)
with low Mn availability in soil has long been known (16).
In the cases of scab of potato and take-all of wheat, caused by
Streptomyces scabies and Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici,
respectively, the Mn-oxidizing capability of the pathogen
proved to be part of the mechanism of pathogenicity (15, 16).
Although the correlation between the availability of other mi-cronutrients
and plant diseases has been investigated less ex-tensively,
it is generally accepted that the addition of micro-nutrients
to plant crops results in a decrease in the incidence of
many diseases (12).
The information gathered in this study indicates that the
biocontrol and plant-growth-promoting fungus T. harzianum
T-22 has the ability to solubilize many plant nutrients from
their solid-phase compounds (e.g., rock phosphate, MnO2,
Fe2O3, and metallic zinc), at least in vitro. To the best of our
knowledge, this is the first report of the ability of a Tricho-derma
strain to solubilize insoluble or sparingly soluble miner-als.
A wide range of mechanisms and chemical entities may be
involved in the solubilization of different materials. For exam-ple,
the fungus produced substances that chelated Fe but not
Mn. Furthermore, Fe31 and Cu21 were reduced to Fe21 and
Cu1 but these reductions were due to different substances. In
addition, the substances that chelate Fe are unlikely to be the
same materials that reduce Fe31 to Fe21; the fungal metabo-lites
known to chelate iron are not also known to have reducing
ability (9). In preliminary further studies, there appear to be
several substances that chelate iron, based on thin-layer chro-matography
separations. Finally, the mechanism for the non-reductive
solubilization of metallic zinc is not known but prob-ably
is dissimilar to those already cited, as is the mechanism for
solubilization of rock phosphate. Chelation and/or redox ac-tivity
are known to play a role in biocontrol of plant pathogens
and might be part of a multiple-component action exerted by
T-22 to achieve effective biocontrol under a variety of environ-mental
conditions.
This summation indicates that T. harzianum possesses a
range of different mechanisms to solubilize and, in some cases,
chelate various plant nutrient compounds. Further progress in
this new field requires that we understand these mechanisms
and identify the chemical components involved in them. These
mechanistic and biochemical studies are under way. Only when
these studies are complete can we design definitive strains and
studies to determine how these substances influence Trichoder-ma-
plant interactions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
C. Altomare’s research at NYSAES/Cornell University was sup-ported
in part by a CNR and a NATO-CNR senior fellowship. Re-search
in the United States was supported in part by grant IS-2880-97
from the US-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Develop-ment
Fund.
C. Altomare heartily thanks D. Houghton, K. L. Ondik, and R.
Petzoldt for their helpful assistance and their friendship. The valuable
assistance of K. L. Ondik and A. Llobell in the revision of the manu-script
is also gratefully acknowledged.
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