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Microbial inoculation of seeds characteristically shapes the rhizosphere microbiome in desi and kabuli chickpea types

  • Soils, Sec 2 • Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Chickpea is generally cultivated after seed treatment with host-specific Mesorhizobium ciceri, the nitrogen-fixing bacterium forming root nodules. Some species of free-living cyanobacteria are capable of nitrogen fixation. We examined the rhizosphere microbiota changes and the potential for plant growth promotion by applying a free-living, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium and the biofilm formulation of cyanobacterium with M. ciceri, relative to M. ciceri applied singly, to two each of desi and kabuli varieties of chickpea.

Materials and methods

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles of archaeal, bacterial and cyanobacterial communities and those of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) were obtained to evaluate the changes of the microbial communities in the chickpea rhizosphere. Plant growth attributes, including the pod yields and the availabilities of soil macronutrients and micronutrients, were monitored.

Results and discussion

The DGGE profiles showed distinct and characteristic changes due to the microbial inoculation; varietal differences exerted a marked influence on the archaeal and cyanobacterial communities. However, bacterial communities were modulated more by the type of microbial inoculants. Abundance of Gram-negative bacteria (in terms of notional PLFAs) differed between the desi and the kabuli varieties inoculated with M. ciceri alone, and the principal component analysis of PLFA profiles confirmed the characteristic effect of microbial inoculants tested. Microbial inoculation led to increases in the 100-seed weight and differential effects on the concentrations of available nitrogen and phosphorus, and those of iron, zinc and copper, suggesting their increased cycling in the rhizosphere.

Conclusions

Microbial inoculation of chickpea brought out the characteristic changes in rhizosphere microbiota. Consequently, the growth promotion of chickpea and nutrient cycling in its rhizosphere distinctively differed. Further studies are needed to analyse the association and dynamic changes in the microbial communities to define the subset of microorganisms selected by chickpea in its rhizosphere and the influence of microbial inoculation.

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Acknowledgements

This investigation was partially funded by the funds from the Network Project on Microorganisms ‘Application of Microorganisms in Agricultural and Allied Sectors’ (AMAAS) granted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, to RP and SERB project, DST, Government of India to BR. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Dr. Hegde, Division of Genetics, ICAR-IARI, in providing the chickpea germplasm and the Division of Agronomy, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, for providing necessary facilities for the analyses of soil samples. The authors are also thankful to the Division of Microbiology, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, for providing the necessary facilities to undertake this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

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

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

    Firoz Hossain

  3. Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Yashbir Singh Shivay

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  1. Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan
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  2. Simranjit Kaur
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  3. Radha Prasanna
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  7. Yashbir Singh Shivay
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  8. Lata Nain
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Correspondence to Radha Prasanna.

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Ramakrishnan, B., Kaur, S., Prasanna, R. et al. Microbial inoculation of seeds characteristically shapes the rhizosphere microbiome in desi and kabuli chickpea types. J Soils Sediments 17, 2040–2053 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1685-5

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