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Isolation and characterization of root-associated bacteria from agricultural crops in the Kavango region of Namibia

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Abstract

Root-associated bacteria can have beneficial effects on their host plants. Microbial products can promote and stimulate plant growth or lead to bioprotection against pathogens. This study aimed to isolate putatively beneficial bacteria from traditional cereals grown by subsistence farmers in the Kavango of Namibia. Bacteria were isolated from surface-sterilized roots of Pennisetum glaucum, Sorghum bicolor, and Zea mays, and subjected to phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses. A total of 44 root-associated bacterial strains were isolated. From 33 distinct isolates, 22 belonged to Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, while 11 were Proteobacteria. Eleven novel phylotypes were among the isolates. Features known to contribute to plant growth-promotion and biocontrol were tested in vitro and revealed promising candidates with multiple beneficial characteristics. This is the first report on the characterization of native isolates associated with important agriculture crops in the Kavango region of Namibia. Such isolates have the potential for application as inoculants adapted to poor soils and local crops. Desiccation-tolerant or sporulating Gram-positive bacteria are of particular interest for this region, which is characterized by a long dry season.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants 01LC0021 and 01LL0912G from the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung to B.R.-H. and T.H. in the BIOLOG and TFO (The Future Okavango) framework. We thank Wolfgang Streit and Leo Eberl for the supply of AHL reporter strains, and Richard Hahnke for helping in the phylogenetic tree reconstruction. Materials were collected in Namibia with Research and Collection permit 1138/2007 and export permit 61911 from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Windhoek, Namibia.

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  1. Department of Microbe-Plant Interactions, Center for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen, University of Bremen, Postfach 33 04 40, 28334, Bremen, Germany

    Jann Lasse Grönemeyer, Claudia Sofía Burbano, Thomas Hurek & Barbara Reinhold-Hurek

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  1. Jann Lasse Grönemeyer
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  2. Claudia Sofía Burbano
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  4. Barbara Reinhold-Hurek
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Correspondence to Barbara Reinhold-Hurek.

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Responsible Editor: Euan K. James.

Jann Lasse Grönemeyer and Claudia Sofía Burbano contributed equally to this study.

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Table S1

Morphological description of bacterial isolates. (DOC 57 kb)

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Grönemeyer, J.L., Burbano, C.S., Hurek, T. et al. Isolation and characterization of root-associated bacteria from agricultural crops in the Kavango region of Namibia. Plant Soil 356, 67–82 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0798-7

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