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Response of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to single and mixed inoculation with phosphate-solubilizing bacteria and Sinorhizobium meliloti

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Abstract

The objectives of this work were to phenotypically and genetically characterize alfalfa rhizosphere bacteria and to evaluate the effect of single or mixed inoculation upon nodulation and biological nitrogen fixation. Thirty-two strains showed tricalcium phosphate solubilization ability, and two of them caused bigger or equal solubilization halos than the control strain P. putida SP22. The comparison of the 16S ribosomal DNA sequences indicated that these strains are phylogenetically related to Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. A beneficial effect of both isolates on alfalfa growth was observed in coinoculation assays. Pseudomonas sp. FM7d caused a significant increase in root and shoot dry weight, length, and surface area of roots, number, and symbiotic properties of alfalfa plants. The plants coinoculated with Sinorhizobium meliloti B399 and the Bacillus sp. M7c showed significant increases in the measured parameters. Our results indicating that strains Pseudomonas sp. FM7d and Bacillus sp. M7c can be considered for the formulation of new inoculants.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by FONTAGRO (ONU), Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica of Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (SECyT-UNRC), PICTO-Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Argentina). M. F. Del Papa, M. Pistorio and S. B. Rosas are members of the Research Career of CONICET. L. B. Guiñazú is recipient of a doctoral fellowship from CONICET. The authors acknowledge the helpful suggestions made by anonymous reviewers to improve the quality of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físico-Químicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Ruta 36 Km 601, 5800, Río Cuarto, Argentina

    Lorena Belén Guiñazú & Susana Beatriz Rosas

  2. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físico-Químicas y Naturales y Laboratorio de Microbiología Agrícola, Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Ruta 36 Km 601, 5800, Río Cuarto, Argentina

    Javier Alberto Andrés

  3. Instituto de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calles 47 y 115, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    María Florencia Del Papa & Mariano Pistorio

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  1. Lorena Belén Guiñazú
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  2. Javier Alberto Andrés
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  3. María Florencia Del Papa
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  4. Mariano Pistorio
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  5. Susana Beatriz Rosas
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Correspondence to Lorena Belén Guiñazú.

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Guiñazú, L.B., Andrés, J.A., Del Papa, M.F. et al. Response of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to single and mixed inoculation with phosphate-solubilizing bacteria and Sinorhizobium meliloti . Biol Fertil Soils 46, 185–190 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-009-0408-5

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