Abstract
Mangroves form an important ecosystem of Great Nicobar, a continental island in the Bay of Bengal with luxuriant tropical rainforests. The rhizosphere of the mangrove plants of Great Nicobar was investigated for the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) and phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB). The soils of the Great Nicobar mangroves were silt–clays and were poor in phosphate content. Five species of AMF belonging to the genus Glomus were isolated. The %AMF colonization in the mangrove plants was between 0 and 17%, and the presence of AMF in the aerenchymatous cortex suggests that the mangrove plants may be aiding in AMF survival by providing oxygen. Two strains of phosphate solubilising Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found in the mangrove soils of Great Nicobar. Phosphate solubilisation by the two isolated strains was almost 70% under in vitro conditions. PSB may play a role in the mangrove ecosystems of Great Nicobar by mobilising insoluble phosphate. The plant roots could pick up the released phosphate directly or with the aid of AMF hyphae.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Prof. C. Manoharachary, Osmania University, Hyderabad, and Prof. D.J. Bagyaraj, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK campus, Bangalore, for help in identification of the AMF species and structures; the anonymous referee and the editor for critical advice; Drs. R.S. Sharma and R. Tandon for help; Dr. V. Shimpale for assistance in the collection of the roots; the Forest Department of Andaman and Nicobar and the Botanical Survey of India, Port Blair Circle, for help and assistance; the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, for sanction of Project No. J22016/11/93–BR and CSIR for grant of Senior Research Fellowship to David Kothamasi.
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Kothamasi, D., Kothamasi, S., Bhattacharyya, A. et al. Arbuscular mycorrhizae and phosphate solubilising bacteria of the rhizosphere of the mangrove ecosystem of Great Nicobar island, India. Biol Fertil Soils 42, 358–361 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0035-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0035-8