Plant growth promotion by DNT‐degrading bacteria

The presence of explosives in soils and the interaction with drought stress and nutrient limitation are among the environmental factors that severely affect plant growth on military soils. In this study, we seek to isolate and identify the cultivable bacteria of a 2,4‐dinitrotoluene (DNT) contaminat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microbial biotechnology 2014-07, Vol.7 (4), p.294-306
Main Authors: Thijs, Sofie, Weyens, Nele, Sillen, Wouter, Gkorezis, Panagiotis, Carleer, Robert, Vangronsveld, Jaco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abiotic stress
Bacteria
Biodegradation
Burkholderia
Consortia
Degradation
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Dinitrotoluene
DNA
Drought
Environmental factors
Explosives
Grasslands
Identification
Inoculation
Low temperature resistance
Military
Military training
Nutrients
Phytotoxicity
Plant growth
Probiotics
Ribosomal DNA
Soil contamination
Soil pollution
Soils
Strains (organisms)
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The presence of explosives in soils and the interaction with drought stress and nutrient limitation are among the environmental factors that severely affect plant growth on military soils. In this study, we seek to isolate and identify the cultivable bacteria of a 2,4‐dinitrotoluene (DNT) contaminated soil (DS) and an adjacent grassland soil (GS) of a military training area aiming to isolate new plant growth‐promoting (PGP) and 2,4‐DNT‐degrading strains. Metabolic profiling revealed disturbances in Ecocarbon use in the bare DS; isolation of cultivable strains revealed a lower colony‐forming‐unit count and a less diverse community associated with DS in comparison with GS. New 2,4‐DNT‐tolerant strains were identified by selective enrichments, which were further characterized by auxanography for 2,4‐DNT use, resistance to drought stress, cold, nutrient starvation and PGP features. By selecting multiple beneficial PGP and abiotic stress‐resistant strains, efficient 2,4‐DNT‐degrading consortia were composed. After inoculation, consortium UHasselt Sofie 3 with seven members belonging to Burkholderia, Variovorax, Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Ralstonia species was capable to successfully enhance root length of Arabidopsis under 2,4‐DNT stress. After 9 days, doubling of main root length was observed. Our results indicate that beneficial bacteria inhabiting a disturbed environment have the potential to improve plant growth and alleviate 2,4‐DNT stress.
ISSN:1751-7915
DOI:10.1111/1751-7915.12111