Molecular Characteristics of Rhizobia Isolated from Arachis hypogaea Grown under Stress Environment

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear authors, I have only a few remarks... L159-165. Add one column in order to split table based on factors: Temperature, NaCl, pH, Antibiotics. Put the explanation "All straints grew...."(L161-165) before table. It is an interesting observation and deserve to be included in text.  L193-add to explanation "w" meaning L249-295 - you need to expand the Discussion section in order to better present/compare your findings.   Overall, it was an interesting article and it was a pleasure to read it. Good luck!

Author Response

Review Report Form

Open Review

(x) I would not like to sign my review report 
( ) I would like to sign my review report 

Comment#1:

English language and style

( ) Extensive editing of English language and style required 
( ) Moderate English changes required 
(x) English language and style are fine/minor spell check required 
( ) I don't feel qualified to judge about the English language and style 

 

Reply to Comment

English language and style have been checked as suggested by the valuable reviewer throughout the manuscript. 

Comment#2:

 

	Yes	Can be improved	Must be improved	Not applicable
Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Is the research design appropriate?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the methods adequately described?	( )	(x)	( )	( )
Are the results clearly presented?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the conclusions supported by the results?	( )	(x)	( )	( )

 

Reply to Comment

Method section have been improved as suggested by the valuable reviewer. Similarly, conclusion has been added.

 

 

Comment#3:

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors, I have only a few remarks... L159-165. Add one column in order to split table based on factors: Temperature, NaCl, pH, Antibiotics.

 

Reply to Comment

Suggestion incorporated as suggested by the valuable reviewer. Kindly see the revised table.

 

Comment#4:

 

Put the explanation "All straints grew...."(L161-165) before table. It is an interesting observation and deserve to be included in text. 

Reply to Comment

The observation has been included in text before the table as suggested by the valuable reviewer.

 

Comment#5:

 

L193-add to explanation "w" meaning

Reply to Comment

Suggestion has been added in table footnotes. Thanks for the valuable suggestion.

Comment#6:

L249-295 - you need to expand the Discussion section in order to better present/compare your findings.  

Reply to Comment

Discussion section has been improved

 

Comment#7:

Overall, it was an interesting article and it was a pleasure to read it. Good luck!

Reply to Comment:

Thanks for these positive remarks.

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Reviewer 2 Report

Very hard to read the manuscript due to the numerous misspellings. Text should be revised.

The experiment set up, the plant origin and overall concept of the article remains unclear and should be revised.

Some of the mistakes and questions throughout the manuscript:

Line 17 gene name should be spelled "recA"

Line 33 gorund nut

Line 37 strange use of verb "comprised"

Line 52 legume does not fix nitrogen by itself

Line 72 too few information about plant number and strain selection process

Line 161 "can grew" is an unappropriate use of language

Line 193 no description of what "w" in the table stands for

Line 256 it forms

Author Response

Review Report Form

Open Review

Comment#1

(x) I would not like to sign my review report 
( ) I would like to sign my review report 

English language and style

(x) Extensive editing of English language and style required 
( ) Moderate English changes required 
( ) English language and style are fine/minor spell check required 
( ) I don't feel qualified to judge about the English language and style 

Reply to Comment

English language and style have been checked as suggested by the valuable reviewer throughout the manuscript. 

Comment#2	Yes	Can be improved	Must be improved	Not applicable
Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references?	( )	(x)	( )	( )
Is the research design appropriate?	( )	(x)	( )	( )
Are the methods adequately described?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the results clearly presented?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the conclusions supported by the results?	(x)	( )	( )	( )

Reply to the Comments:

Introduction section and research design has been improved as suggested by the valuable reviewer. 

Comment#3

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Very hard to read the manuscript due to the numerous misspellings. Text should be revised.

Reply to Comment:

Spellings are checked and corrected throughout the manuscript.

 

Comment#4

The experiment set up, the plant origin and overall concept of the article remains unclear and should be revised.

Reply to Comment:

Experimental setup and plant origin has been clarified.

 

Comment#5

Some of the mistakes and questions throughout the manuscript:

Line 17 gene name should be spelled "recA"

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested.

 

Comment#6

Line 33 gorund nut

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested.

 

Comment#7

Line 37 strange use of verb "comprised"

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested.

 

Comment#8

Line 52 legume does not fix nitrogen by itself

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested.

 

Comment#9

Line 72 too few information about plant number and strain selection process

Reply to Comment:

Detail about sampling and isolation is added.

Line 161 "can grew" is an unappropriate use of language

 

Comment#10

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested.

 

Comment#11

Line 193 no description of what "w" in the table stands for

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested.

 

Comment#12

Line 256 it forms

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested.

Reviewer 3 Report

The paper refers to a current issue in many agricultural lands, i.e. the problem of plant adaptation to the environmental stress, i.e. salinity of the soil, one of the most limiting factors of the plant growth in an arid area. The phenotypic and genetic characteristics of 8 isolates of Rhizobium sp. from nodules of the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) helped to define the most effective 3 rhizobial isolates for nodulation (and atmospheric nitrogen fixation), stimulating growth and better adaptation of Arachis to the physiological drought caused by high salinity. Certainly, further field experiments should be performed to prove the efficiency of the isolated Rhizobium isolates to enhance the growth of the groundnut in saline conditions. To sum up I fully recommend publishing this article in Sustainability journal.

Few points could be improved:

Line 117 The citation is mentioned as [24] – please erase “Poly et al. 2000”

Line 187 Explain in footnote what mean “w” in Table 2

In references Latin names of species should be in italic

Author Response

Open Review

( ) I would not like to sign my review report 
(x) I would like to sign my review report 

English language and style

( ) Extensive editing of English language and style required 
( ) Moderate English changes required 
( ) English language and style are fine/minor spell check required 
(x) I don't feel qualified to judge about the English language and style 

Comment#1

 

	Yes	Can be improved	Must be improved	Not applicable
Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Is the research design appropriate?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the methods adequately described?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the results clearly presented?	( )	(x)	( )	( )
Are the conclusions supported by the results?	(x)	( )	( )	( )

Reply to Comment:

Results section has been improved as suggested by the valuable reviewer.

 

Comment#2

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper refers to a current issue in many agricultural lands, i.e. the problem of plant adaptation to the environmental stress, i.e. salinity of the soil, one of the most limiting factors of the plant growth in an arid area. The phenotypic and genetic characteristics of 8 isolates of Rhizobium sp. from nodules of the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) helped to define the most effective 3 rhizobial isolates for nodulation (and atmospheric nitrogen fixation), stimulating growth and better adaptation of Arachis to the physiological drought caused by high salinity. Certainly, further field experiments should be performed to prove the efficiency of the isolated Rhizobium isolates to enhance the growth of the groundnut in saline conditions. To sum up I fully recommend publishing this article in Sustainability journal.

Reply to Comment:

We appreciate reviewers for giving positive feedback and recommending our work

Few points could be improved:

Comment#3

Line 117 The citation is mentioned as [24] – please erase “Poly et al. 2000”

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested by the valuable reviewer please.

 

Comment#4

Line 187 Explain in footnote what mean “w” in Table 2

Reply to Comment:

It has been added in the footnote.

 

Comment#5

In references Latin names of species should be in italic

Reply to Comment:

Corrected as suggested by the valuable reviewer please.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Authors accurately corrected the manuscript. However, formatting of Table 1 should be revised.