Biotechnological potential of plant growth-promoting bacteria from the roots and rhizospheres of endemic plants in ironstone vegetation in southeastern Brazil

• Published in: World journal of microbiology & biotechnology 2018-10, Vol.34 (10), p.156-14, Article 156
• Main Authors: Felestrino, Érica Barbosa, Vieira, Izadora Tabuso, Caneschi, Washington Luiz, Cordeiro, Isabella Ferreira, Assis, Renata de Almeida Barbosa, Lemes, Camila Gracyelle de Carvalho, Fonseca, Natasha Peixoto, Sanchez, Angélica Bianchini, Cepeda, Juan Carlos Caicedo, Ferro, Jesus Aparecido, Garcia, Camila Carrião Machado, do Carmo, Flávio Fonseca, Kamino, Luciana Hiromi Yoshino, Moreira, Leandro Marcio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amylases - metabolism; Applied Microbiology; Arsenates; Arsenates - metabolism; Arsenic; Arsenic - metabolism; Arsenic - pharmacology; Arsenic ions; Arsenite; Arsenites - metabolism; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - drug effects; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - metabolism; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Biochemistry; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biodiversity; Biological control; Biological Control Agents; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bioremediation; Biotechnology; Brazil; Citrus sinensis; Drug Resistance; Endemic plants; Endemic species; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Fertilizers; Hydrogen Cyanide - metabolism; Indigenous plants; Indoleacetic Acids - metabolism; Lesions; Life Sciences; Lycopersicon esculentum - growth & development; Lycopersicon esculentum - microbiology; Microbiology; Microbiota; Microbiota - physiology; Microorganisms; Nitrogen Fixation; Original Paper; Peptide Hydrolases - metabolism; Phosphates - metabolism; Plant Development - physiology; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Diseases - prevention & control; Plant growth; Plant Pathology; Plant Roots - chemistry; Plant Roots - microbiology; Plants (botany); Rhizosphere; Rhizosphere microorganisms; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Roots; Seeds; Siderophores - metabolism; Soil - chemistry; Soil contamination; Soil investigations; Soil Microbiology; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Soil pollution; Tomatoes; Xanthomonas - physiology; Xanthomonas citri
• ISSN: 0959-3993; 1573-0972
• DOI: 10.1007/s11274-018-2538-0

Microorganisms associated with plants have a great biotechnological potential, but investigations of these microorganisms associated with native plants in peculiar environments has been incipient. The objective of this study was to analyze the plant growth-promoting bacteria potential of cultivable bacteria associated with rare plants from the ferruginous rocky fields of the Brazilian Iron Quadrangle. The roots and rhizospheres of nine endemic plants species and samples of a root found in a lateritiric duricrust (canga) cave were collected, the culturable bacteria isolated and prospected for distinct biotechnological and ecological potentials. Out of the 148 isolates obtained, 8 (5.4%) showed potential to promote plant growth, whereas 4 (2.7%) isolates acted as biocontrol agents against Xanthomonas citri pathotype A (Xac306), reducing the cancrotic lesions by more than 60% when co-inoculated with this phytopathogen in Citrus sinensis plants. Moreover, other 4 (2.7%) isolates were classified as potential bioremediation agents, being able to withstand high concentrations of arsenite (5 mM As 3+ ) and arsenate (800 mM As 5+ ), by removing up to 35% and 15% of this metalloid in solution, respectively. These same four isolates had a positive influence on the growth of both the roots and the aerial parts when inoculated with tomato seeds in the soil contaminated with arsenic. This is the first time that an investigation highlights the potentialities of bacteria associated with rare plants of ferruginous rocky fields as a reservoir of microbiota of biotechnological and ecological interest, highlighting the importance of conservation of this area that is undergoing intense anthropic activity. Graphical abstract