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Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis fingerprinting for identification of Azospirillum species

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Abstract

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to obtain macrorestriction fingerprints of restriction enzyme-cut DNA of natural isolates of Azospirillum spp. Metabolic profiles, along with other phenotypic characteristics, were compared with these fingerprints to differentiate among the azospirilla isolates. A wide diversity of phenotypes (e.g., colony color, motility, and accumulation of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate granules) was observed among the natural isolates of azospirilla. PFGE revealed that TCTAGA, the sequence recognized by Xba1, is rare in the genome of azospirilla. The PFGE fingerprint revealed that azospirilla associated with different crops have a very similar genetic background. PFGE fingerprints were more consistent in the identification of azospirilla isolates from specific hosts than the metabolic fingerprints. For further differentiation at strain level, metabolic, physiological, and morphological profiles provide additional information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Pathology Department, Montana State University, 59717, Bozeman, MT, USA

    Megeed MA Eid & John E. Sherwood

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  1. Megeed MA Eid
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  2. John E. Sherwood
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Journal No. J-2920 of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Eid, M.M., Sherwood, J.E. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis fingerprinting for identification of Azospirillum species. Current Microbiology 30, 127–131 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00296196

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00296196

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