Plants 2019, 8(2), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8020042
Diversity and Functionality of Culturable Endophytic Bacterial Communities in Chickpea Plants
Clarisse Brígido 1,2,*
, Sakshi Singh 3, Esther Menéndez 1, Maria J. Tavares 1, Bernard R. Glick 4, Maria do Rosário Félix 1, Solange Oliveira 1,† and Mário Carvalho 1
, Sakshi Singh 3, Esther Menéndez 1, Maria J. Tavares 1, Bernard R. Glick 4, Maria do Rosário Félix 1, Solange Oliveira 1,† and Mário Carvalho 1
1
ICAAM—Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal
2
IIFA—Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Universidade de Évora, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal
3
Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, 4th Floor, E-3 BlockSector, Sector 125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201313, Índia
4
Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Deceased.
Received: 4 January 2019 / Revised: 1 February 2019 / Accepted: 12 February 2019 / Published: 14 February 2019
(This article belongs to the Section Plant Protection)
Abstract
The aims of this study were to isolate, identify and characterize culturable endophytic bacteria from chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) roots grown in different soils. In addition, the effects of rhizobial inoculation, soil and stress on the functionality of those culturable endophytic bacterial communities were also investigated. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the endophytic bacteria isolated in this work belong to the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, with Enterobacter and Pseudomonas being the most frequently observed genera. Production of indoleacetic acid and ammonia were the most widespread plant growth-promoting features, while antifungal activity was relatively rare among the isolates. Despite the fact that the majority of bacterial endophytes were salt- and Mn-tolerant, the isolates obtained from soil with Mn toxicity were generally more Mn-tolerant than those obtained from the same soil amended with dolomitic limestone. Several associations between an isolate’s genus and specific plant growth-promoting mechanisms were observed. The data suggest that soil strongly impacts the Mn tolerance of endophytic bacterial communities present in chickpea roots while rhizobial inoculation induces significant changes in terms of isolates’ plant growth-promoting abilities. In addition, this study also revealed chickpea-associated endophytic bacteria that could be exploited as sources with potential application in agriculture. View Full-TextKeywords:
endophytes; Cicer arietinum; plant growth-promoting bacteria; mechanisms; rhizobia inoculation; manganese; salinity
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Brígido, C.; Singh, S.; Menéndez, E.; Tavares, M.J.; Glick, B.R.; Félix, M.R.; Oliveira, S.; Carvalho, M. Diversity and Functionality of Culturable Endophytic Bacterial Communities in Chickpea Plants. Plants 2019, 8, 42.
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