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Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis–Enhanced Mineral Phosphate Solubilization by Groundnut-Associated Serratia marcescens GPS-5

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Abstract

Twenty-three bacterial isolates were screened for their mineral phosphate–solubilizing (MPS) ability on Pikovskaya and National Botanical Research Institute’s phosphate (NBRIP) agar. The majority of the isolates exhibited a strong ability to solubilize hydroxyapatite in both solid and liquid media. The solubilization in liquid medium corresponded with a decrease in the pH of the medium. Serratia marcescens GPS-5, known for its biocontrol of late leaf spot in groundnut, emerged as the best solubilizer. S. marcescens GPS-5 was subjected to ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis, and a total of 1700 mutants, resulting after 45 minutes of exposure, were screened on buffered NBRIP medium for alterations in MPS ability compared with that of the wild type. Seven mutants with increased (increased-MPS mutants) and 6 mutants with decreased (decreased-MPS mutants) MPS ability were isolated. All seven increased-MPS mutants were efficient at solubilizing phosphate in both solid and liquid NBRIP medium. Among the increased-MPS mutants, EMS XVIII Sm-35 showed the maximum (40%) increase in the amount of phosphate released in liquid medium compared with wild-type S. marcescens GPS-5, therefore, it would be a useful microbial inoculant in groundnut cultivation. EMS III Sm W, a nonpigmented mutant, showed the lowest solubilization of phosphate among the 6 decreased-MPS mutants.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the financial support listed by the Department of Biotechnology, India, in the form of a network project, “Development of Transgenic Mineral Phosphate–Solubilizing Bacteria.” A. R. P., C. T., and B. S. thank the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and DBT, India, respectively, for the research fellowship. The investigators also thank the University Grants Commission-Special Assistance Programme (UGC-SAP) and Department of Science and Technology-Fund for Improvement in Science and Technology Infrastructure (DST-FIST) programmes of the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad, and G. Naresh Kumar and G. Markandeya for providing the bacterial cultures used in the study.

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  1. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad, P. O. Central University, Hyderabad, 500 046, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Chaturvedula Tripura, Burla Sashidhar & Appa Rao Podile

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  1. Chaturvedula Tripura
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  2. Burla Sashidhar
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  3. Appa Rao Podile
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Correspondence to Appa Rao Podile.

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Tripura, C., Sashidhar, B. & Podile, A.R. Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis–Enhanced Mineral Phosphate Solubilization by Groundnut-Associated Serratia marcescens GPS-5. Curr Microbiol 54, 79–84 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-0334-1

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