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The Mo- and Fe-nitrogenases of the endophyte Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 are necessary for growth promotion of sugarcane

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Abstract

Aim

Sugarcane is a multipurpose crop primarily used to produce sugar, energy and bioethanol. It requires high amounts of N-fertilization for optimal growth, which increases production costs and environmental degradation. The contribution of biological nitrogen fixation to Uruguayan commercial sugarcane cultivars was demonstrated previously, and diazotrophic bacteria that were isolated from the stems were characterized and identified. From this collection, the isolate UYSO10 related to the Kosakonia genus (formerly Enterobacter) was described as a plant growth-promoting endophyte of sugarcane plants.

Purpose

To evaluate the effect of the inoculation of wild-type and nitrogenase-deficient strains of Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 on sugarcane growth promotion under non-sterile conditions.

Methods

Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 was inoculated onto sugarcane setts for plant growth promotion greenhouse experiments. Single and double mutants resulting to the nitrogenase-encoding genes (nifH, anfH) were constructed, and the phenotypes were evaluated in vitro and in vivo.

Results

Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 is able to promote sugarcane growth under non-sterile conditions, that strain UYSO10 harbors two functional nitrogenases and the inactivation of both nitrogenase-encoding genes diminish its capacity of promoting growth on sugarcane.

Conclusion

All together, the results obtained showed that the biological nitrogen fixation ability of Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 is required for sugarcane growth promotion.

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Abbreviations

BNF:

Biological nitrogen fixation

PGP:

Plant growth promotion

PGPB:

Plant growth-promoting bacteria

Pi:

Post-inoculation

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Uruguayan Fund for the Promotion of Agricultural Technology (Fondo de Promoción de Tecnología Agropecuaria FPTA-275 and 331-INIA), the Uruguayan Program for the Development of the Basic Sciences (Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Básicas-PEDECIBA), the Posgrade Academic Commission-UdelaR (Comisión Académica de Posgrado), and the Uruguayan National Agency for Innovation and Research (Agencia Nacional de Innovación e Investigación-ANII). The authors are very grateful to Ing. Agr. Fernando Hackembruch from the Agriculture Department of the Alcoholes Uruguay S.A.

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  1. Microbial Biochemistry and Genomics Department, Clemente Estable Biological Research Institute, Avenida Italia 3318, 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Cecilia Taulé, Hugo Luizzi, Martín Beracochea, Cintia Mareque, Raúl Platero & Federico Battistoni

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  1. Cecilia Taulé
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  2. Hugo Luizzi
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  3. Martín Beracochea
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Correspondence to Federico Battistoni.

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Taulé, C., Luizzi, H., Beracochea, M. et al. The Mo- and Fe-nitrogenases of the endophyte Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 are necessary for growth promotion of sugarcane. Ann Microbiol 69, 741–750 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-019-01466-7

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