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Cyanobacterial and rhizobial inoculation modulates the plant physiological attributes and nodule microbial communities of chickpea

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Abstract

The present investigation aimed to understand the influence of two plant growth promoting cyanobacterial formulations (Anabaena-Mesorhizobium ciceri biofilm and Anabaena laxa), along with Mesorhizobium ciceri, on the symbiotic performance of five each of desi- and kabuli-chickpea cultivars. Inoculation with cyanobacterial formulations led to significant interactions with different cultivars, in terms of fresh weight and number of nodules, the concentration of nodular leghemoglobin, and the number of pods. The inoculant A. laxa alone was superior in its performance, recording 30–50% higher values than uninoculated control, and led to significantly higher nodule number per plant and fresh root weight, relative to the M. ciceri alone. Highest nodule numbers were recorded in the kabuli cultivars BG256 and BG1003. The kabuli cultivar BG1108 treated with the biofilmed Anabaena-M. ciceri inoculant recorded the highest concentration of leghemoglobin in nodules. These inoculants also stimulated the elicitation of defense- and pathogenesis-related enzymes in both the desi and kabuli cultivars, by two to threefolds. The analyses of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles revealed that microbial communities in nodules were highly diverse, with about 23 archaeal, 9 bacterial, and 13 cyanobacterial predominant phylotypes observed in both desi and kabuli cultivars, and influenced by the inoculants. Our findings illustrate that the performance of the chickpea plants may be significantly modulated by the microbial communities in the nodule, which may contribute towards improved plant growth and metabolic activity of nodules. This emphasizes the promise of cyanobacterial inoculants in improving the symbiotic performance of chickpea.

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Acknowledgements

This investigation received support partially from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) funded Network Project on Microorganisms “Application of Microorganisms in Agricultural and Allied Sectors” (AMAAS), New Delhi to RP and SERB Project, funded by DST, Government of India to BR. The authors are also thankful to the Division of Microbiology, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi for access to the facilities to undertake this study.

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  1. Division of Microbiology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Radha Prasanna, Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan, Kaur Simranjit, Kunal Ranjan, Amrita Kanchan & Lata Nain

  2. Maize Genetics Section, Division of Genetics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Firoz Hossain

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  1. Radha Prasanna
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  2. Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan
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  3. Kaur Simranjit
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Correspondence to Radha Prasanna.

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Communicated by Djamel DRIDER.

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Prasanna, R., Ramakrishnan, B., Simranjit, K. et al. Cyanobacterial and rhizobial inoculation modulates the plant physiological attributes and nodule microbial communities of chickpea. Arch Microbiol 199, 1311–1323 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-017-1405-y

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