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The contribution of nitrogen fixation to sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.), and the identification and characterization of part of the associated diazotrophic bacterial community

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Abstract

Background and aims

Rhizospheric, epiphytic and endophytic bacteria are associated with several non-legumes, colonizing their surface and inner tissues. Many of these bacteria are beneficial to their hosts, and are collectively termed plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Recent interest has focused particularly upon PGPR that are endophytic (i.e. PGPE), and which have been reported to be associated with important crops such as rice, wheat and sugarcane. Different mechanisms are involved in bacteria-induced plant growth promotion (PGP), including biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), mineral solubilization, production of phytohormones and pathogen biocontrol. In Uruguay, sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is considered a strategic multipurpose crop, used for bioenergy, feed, sugar and bioethanol production. The aim of this work was to estimate the BNF contribution to Uruguayan sugarcane cultivars, as well as to identify and characterize the (culturable) putatively endophytic diazotrophic bacteria associated with these varieties.

Methods and results

Results using the 15N-dilution technique have shown that these sugarcane varieties obtain significant inputs of N from BNF (34.8–58.8% Ndfa). In parallel, a collection of 598 isolates of potentially endophytic diazotrophs was obtained from surface-sterilized stems using standard isolation techniques, and nifH + isolates from these were the subject of further studies. The bacteria were shown to belong to several genera, including Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Xanthomonas, Acinetobacter, Rhanella, Enterobacter, Pantoea, Shinella, Agrobacterium and Achromobacter. Additionally, some PGP features were studied in 35 selected isolates. The data obtained in this study represent the initial steps in a program aimed at determining the mechanisms of PGP of non-legume crops in Uruguay (such as sugarcane) with potentially beneficial plant-associated bacteria.

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Abbreviations

BNF:

Biological nitrogen fixation

IAA:

indole-3-acetic acid

PGPE:

plant growth promoting endophytes

%15N a.e:

atom %15N excess 15N

% Ndfa:

percent nitrogen derived from air

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Uruguayan Fund for the Promotion of Agricultural Technologies (Fondo de Promoción de Tecnología Agropecuaria FPTA-275-INIA), the Uruguayan Program for the Development of Basic Sciences (Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Básicas -PEDECIBA), and the Uruguayan National Agency for Innovation and Research (Agencia Nacional de Innovación e Investigación, ANII). The authors are very grateful to the Department of Water and Soil (School of Agronomy, University of the Republic, Uruguay) and with Dr. Atilio Deana for his assistance with manuscript corrections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbial Biochemistry and Genomics Department, “Clemente Estable” Biological Research Institute, Avenida Italia 3318, Montevideo, 11600, Uruguay

    Cecilia Taulé, Cintia Mareque & Federico Battistoni

  2. Soil Microbiology Laboratory, Science Faculty, UdelaR, Mataojo 2055, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay

    Claudia Barlocco & Margarita Sicardi

  3. Agriculture Department, Alcoholes del Uruguay S.A. (ALUR), Camino Calnu S/N, Artigas, 55100, Uruguay

    Fernando Hackembruch

  4. EMBRAPA-Agrobiologia BR465, Km 07, 23851-970, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

    Veronica M. Reis

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  1. Cecilia Taulé
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Correspondence to Federico Battistoni.

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Cecilia Taulé and Cintia Mareque made equal contributions

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Table S1

16S rRNA nucleotide sequence similarities of putatively endophytic bacterial isolates from three Uruguayan commercial sugarcane cultivars (DOC 144 kb)

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Taulé, C., Mareque, C., Barlocco, C. et al. The contribution of nitrogen fixation to sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.), and the identification and characterization of part of the associated diazotrophic bacterial community. Plant Soil 356, 35–49 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-1023-4

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