Abstract
Since the first description of Herbaspirillum seropedicae in 1986, few data have been published on this diazotroph, possibly due to difficulties in isolating it from soil. In the present study we found that this bacterium seems to be an obligate endophyte which has been isolated from roots, stems, and leaves of a large number of samples of more than 10 different species of the Gramineae family, but only exceptionally from other plants. H. rubrisubalbicans, previously misnamed as “Pseudomonas” rubrisubalbicans, and known as a mild pathogen of sugarcane causing mottled stripe disease, confirms the endophytie habitat of this genus. This species occurs in roots, stems, and leaves of sugarcane and seems to be restricted to this crop. Inoculation of strains from both species into soil in high numbers resulted in a rapid decline in their numbers. In only 30 days the population of Herbaspirillum spp. in soil decreased below detection limits (<100 cells g-1). When sorghum was planted in this soil, the bacteria reappeared and multiplied within the plant tissues.
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Olivares, F.L., Baldani, V.L.D., Reis, V.M. et al. Occurrence of the endophytic diazotrophs Herbaspirillum spp. in roots, stems, and leaves, predominantly of Gramineae. Biol Fertil Soils 21, 197–200 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00335935
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00335935