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Plant Growth–Promoting Bacteria Facilitate the Growth of the Common Reed Phragmites australisin the Presence of Copper or Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

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Abstract

To test whether plant growth–promoting bacteria might be useful in facilitating the growth of Phragmites australis, the common reed, in the presence of metals and organic compounds, P. australis seeds were treated with plant growth–promoting bacteria. The bacterium Pseudomonas asplenii AC was genetically transformed to express a bacterial gene encoding the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase, and both the native and transformed bacteria were tested in conjunction with P. australis. Inoculation of seeds, which were subsequently grown in the presence of copper or creosote, with transformed P. asplenii AC significantly increased seed germination. Moreover, the addition of either native or transformed P. asplenii AC to P. australis seeds enabled the plants (shoots and roots) to attain a greater size than noninoculated plants after growth in soil in the presence of either copper or creosote.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Strategic Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to B. R. G.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, 200 University Avenue West, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada

    M.L.E. Reed & Bernard R. Glick

  2. Department of Geography, 200 University Avenue West, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Barry G. Warner

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  1. M.L.E. Reed
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  2. Barry G. Warner
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  3. Bernard R. Glick
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Correspondence to Bernard R. Glick.

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Reed, M., Warner, B.G. & Glick, B.R. Plant Growth–Promoting Bacteria Facilitate the Growth of the Common Reed Phragmites australisin the Presence of Copper or Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Curr Microbiol 51, 425–429 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-4584-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-4584-8

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