Increased lucerne nodulation in acid soils with Sinorhizobium meliloti and lucerne tolerant to low pH and high aluminium

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Wigley ◽  
Hayley J. Ridgway ◽  
Alan W. Humphries ◽  
Ross A. Ballard ◽  
Derrick J. Moot

Acidic conditions with damaging levels of available aluminium (Al3+) currently limit lucerne (Medicago sativa) production on soils in the New Zealand high country and in large areas of Australia. Increased lucerne nodulation could be achieved by using an Al3+-tolerant strain of Sinorhizobium meliloti to inoculate an Al3+-tolerant lucerne line. The Al3+ tolerance of the current commercial Australasian inoculant strain for lucerne, S. meliloti RRI128, was compared with strain SRDI736, selected in Australia for tolerance to low pH. Four Al3+ levels (0, 2, 4 and 8 µm) were created at pH 5.1 in a hydroponic system. The rhizobial strains were evaluated on SARDI AT7, a lucerne line selected for improved growth and nodulation in acidic solution culture with Al3+, and on Stamina 5, a commercial cultivar commonly grown in Australasia. SARDI AT7 when inoculated with strain SRDI736 produced more nodules per plant (3.6 vs 2.4) and had higher nodulation percentage (>80% vs <50%) at all Al3+ levels than when inoculated with RRI128. The percentage of nodulated Stamina 5 plants after inoculation with the commercial strain was lower than after inoculation with strain SRDI736 (10–16% vs 25–70%) at all Al3+ levels. The potential of S. meliloti strains SRDI736, SRDI672 and RRI128 and rates of lime to increase lucerne nodulation and dry matter production in soils of low pH (<5.5, in water) and high Al3+ (>3 mg kg–1 soil) was also investigated in a pot trial. Lime had a more consistent effect than inoculant strain for increasing nodulation. At 0.5 and 2 t lime ha–1, plants inoculated with strains SRDI672 and SRDI736 had more nodules per plant than plants inoculated with the commercial strain. At 4 t lime ha–1, the number of nodules per plant was highest for all three inoculants, and there were no differences among them. This confirms the importance of lime to increase lucerne nodulation in low-pH, high-Al3+ soils. However, where liming is uneconomic or impractical, the results show that it was possible to select rhizobial strains to increase lucerne nodulation in acidic soils with damaging levels of available Al3+.

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 512 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Charman ◽  
R. A. Ballard ◽  
A. W. Humphries ◽  
G. C. Auricht

The effect of rhizobial strain and lucerne genotype on the nodulation of lucerne seedlings growing in solution cultures maintained at pH 5 was measured in two greenhouse experiments. Sinorhizobium strain SRDI291 increased the percentage of plants nodulated when compared with the commercial inoculant strain RRI128 (89% cf. 45% and 86% cf. 23% in the two experiments, respectively). Similarly, the mean number of nodules per nodulated plant (NNP) was greatest in the SRDI291 treatments (3.5 cf. 1.7 and 3.1 cf. 1.8). Plant genotype had fewer, but still significant effects on nodulation. Overall, lucerne genotype CRCSA29 had the highest percentage of plants forming nodules and most NNP (63% and 2.9); genotype L97a had the lowest (46% and 1.9). Greater variation in NNP occurred when the lucerne genotypes were inoculated with RRI128. Most notable was the better nodulation of CRCSA29 with 2.8 NNP compared with only 1.2 NNP for the two unselected genotypes (SARDI Ten and L97a). The lucerne genotypes typically had variable NNP, as exemplified in CRCSA29 inoculated with RRI128 where it ranged from 0–14, providing the opportunity for further plant selection. The work demonstrates that there remains substantial opportunity to increase the potential of lucerne to nodulate at low pH. Gains would appear to be most easily made by changing the strain of rhizobia that is used for inoculation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 1421-1430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Sohlenkamp ◽  
Kanaan A. Galindo-Lagunas ◽  
Ziqiang Guan ◽  
Pablo Vinuesa ◽  
Sally Robinson ◽  
...  

Lysyl-phosphatidylglycerol (LPG) is a well-known membrane lipid in several gram-positive bacteria but is almost unheard of in gram-negative bacteria. In Staphylococcus aureus, the gene product of mprF is responsible for LPG formation. Low pH-inducible genes, termed lpiA, have been identified in the gram-negative α-proteobacteria Rhizobium tropici and Sinorhizobium medicae in screens for acid-sensitive mutants and they encode homologs of MprF. An analysis of the sequenced bacterial genomes reveals that genes coding for homologs of MprF from S. aureus are present in several classes of organisms throughout the bacterial kingdom. In this study, we show that the expression of lpiA from R. tropici in the heterologous hosts Escherichia coli and Sinorhizobium meliloti causes formation of LPG. A wild-type strain of R. tropici forms LPG (about 1% of the total lipids) when the cells are grown in minimal medium at pH 4.5 but not when grown in minimal medium at neutral pH or in complex tryptone yeast (TY) medium at either pH. LPG biosynthesis does not occur when lpiA is deleted and is restored upon complementation of lpiA-deficient mutants with a functional copy of the lpiA gene. When grown in the low-pH medium, lpiA-deficient rhizobial mutants are over four times more susceptible to the cationic peptide polymyxin B than the wild type.


1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 613 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Carter ◽  
WK Gardner ◽  
AH Gibson

The response of faba beans (Vicia faba L. cv. Fiord) to seed inoculation with eight strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar. viciae was examined in field experiments at six sites on acid soils in south-west Victoria. At two of the sites, two additional strains were examined, and in 1988, 14 strains were examined at one site. Very low natural populations of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae were found at the experimental sites. Most strains resulted in improved early nodulation and increased grain yield at all sites, when compared to inoculation with the commercial strain of rhizobia (SU391). Plant dry matter production and nitrogen accumulation in the plant shoot tissue was also increased at one site during the flowering period by some strains. Large visual differences between plots inoculated with SU391 and other strains were evident at most sites. Most uninoculated treatments were not nodulated and yielded very poorly. Treatments inoculated with the strain SU391 performed similarly to the uninoculated treatments.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Arief Vivi Noviati ◽  
Sri Hutami ◽  
Ika Mariska ◽  
Endang Sjamsudin

<p class="p1">Aluminum toxicity is a major constraint to soybean production in acid soils. Since variabilities on Al tolerance in plants are very limited, mutation breeding, and <em>in vitro </em>selection were used to increase the variability. Three soyben genotypes were produced from cultivars Wilis and Sindoro that have been gamma irradiated and selected <em>in vitro </em>for their tolerance to Al on Al and low pH media. These genotypes and their original cultivars were then planted in a greenhouse in an acid soil on May 2001. The results showed that the plant performances were varied, some were shorter and more compact than the original. Based on the yield components, a number of plants from the genotypes showed higher than those of the control cultivars. These plants were considered more tolerant to Al than the original cultivars.</p>


2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 2629-2637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaling Liu ◽  
Lin Zeng ◽  
Robert A. Burne

ABSTRACT Acidic conditions and the presence of exogenous agmatine are required to achieve maximal expression of the agmatine deiminase system (AgDS) of Streptococcus mutans. Here we demonstrate that the transcriptional activator of the AgDS, AguR, is required for the responses to agmatine and to low pH. Linker scanning mutagenesis was used to create a panel of mutated aguR genes that were utilized to complement an aguR deletion mutant of S. mutans. The level of production of the mutant proteins was shown to be comparable to that of the wild-type AguR protein. Mutations in the predicted DNA binding domain of AguR eliminated activation of the agu operon. Insertions into the region connecting the DNA binding domain to the predicted extracellular and transmembrane domains were well tolerated. In contrast, a variety of mutants were isolated that had a diminished capacity to respond to low pH but retained the ability to activate AgDS gene expression in response to agmatine, and vice versa. Also, a number of mutants were unable to respond to either agmatine or low pH. AguD, which is a predicted agmatine-putrescine antiporter, was found to be a negative regulator of AgDS gene expression in the absence of exogenous agmatine but was not required for low-pH induction of the AgDS genes. This study reveals that the control of AgDS gene expression by both agmatine and low pH is coordinated through the AguR protein and begins to identify domains of the protein involved in sensing and signaling.


2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.V. Savant ◽  
D.R. Ranade

To operate anaerobic digesters successfully under acidic conditions, hydrogen utilizing methanogens which can grow efficiently at low pH and tolerate high volatile fatty acids (VFA) are desirable. An acid tolerant hydrogenotrophic methanogen viz. Methanobrevibacter acididurans isolated from slurry of an anaerobic digester running on alcohol distillery wastewater has been described earlier by this lab. This organism could grow optimally at pH 6.0. In the experiments reported herein, M. acididurans showed better methanogenesis under acidic conditions with high VFA, particularly acetate, than Methanobacterium bryantii, a common hydrogenotrophic inhabitant of anaerobic digesters. Addition of M. acididurans culture to digesting slurry of acidogenic as well as methanogenic digesters running on distillery wastewater showed increase in methane production and decrease in accumulation of volatile fatty acids. The results proved the feasibility of application of M. acididurans in anaerobic digesters.


Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Almeida Rodrigues ◽  
Sebastião Carvalho Vasconcelos Filho ◽  
Caroline Müller ◽  
Douglas Almeida Rodrigues ◽  
Juliana de Fátima Sales ◽  
...  

Native Cerrado plants are exposed to soils with low pH and high availability of Al. In this study, we measured the Al content in adult plants, and investigated the effects of various Al doses on germination and early development of Eugenia dysenterica plants. For germination tests, the seeds were soaked in Al solution and evaluated for twenty days in growth chambers. In a second experiment, young plants were cultivated in hydroponic systems with various Al concentrations to evaluate the morphological, anatomical and physiological characteristics of E. dysenterica. Anatomical changes and low germinative vigor were observed in seeds germinated in 600 and 800 μmol Al3+ L−1. In the hydroponic system, 200 μmol Al3+ L−1 stimulated root growth in young plants. The activity of antioxidant enzymes and the accumulation of phenolic compounds were greatest at the highest Al doses, preventing changes in gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence. Starch grain accumulation was noted in plant cells exposed to 200 and 400 μmol Al3+ L−1. Adult E. dysenterica trees also accumulated Al in leaves, bark and seeds. These data suggest that E. dysenterica is tolerant to Al.


Blood ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1133-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
TG Gabig ◽  
SI Bearman ◽  
BM Babior

Abstract The respiratory burst of human neutrophils was measured under conditions of hypoxia and low pH. O2 -- production by neutrophils activated with opsonized zymosan fell slowly as the oxygen concentration declined to 1%, then dropped more sharply, reaching negligible levels at oxygen concentrations less than 0.25%. Production was half maximal at an oxygen concentration of 0.35% (equivalent to approximately 10-microM dissolved oxygen). O2- production by the cell- free O2- -forming system prepared from zymosan-activated neutrophils showed a similar dependence on oxygen concentration. A drop in pH caused decreases in both oxygen consumption and O2-- production by zymosan-treated neutrophils, values at PH 6.0 being 10%--20% of those observed at pH 7.5. Experiments with the cell-free O2-- -forming system suggested that this decline in respiratory burst activity at low pH was due to inefficient activation of the O2-- -forming enzyme under acidic conditions.


1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 695 ◽  
Author(s):  
RA Culvenor

Tolerance to excess manganese in 13 Mediterranean accessions and 3 Australian cultivars of phalaris was determined in solution culture with manganese concentrations from 0.5 to 210 ppm. The effect of aluminium (0, 2.5, 5-0 ppm) on the response of two accessions to excess manganese was studied in a second experiment. Phalaris was very tolerant to excess manganese. Shoot yield at 150 ppm manganese ranged from 25 to 50% of the maximum yield, which was achieved at 0.5 ppm in some lines and at 40 ppm in others. The cultivars Australian and Sirosa were among the most tolerant types. With one exception, Algerian accessions were the least tolerant. These accessions were of similar tolerance to Egret, the most tolerant wheat cultivar examined. All phalaris lines were much more tolerant than Isis wheat, Clipper barley, Woogenellup subterranean clover and Jumbuck rape. Variation in tolerance of high internal manganese levels was the principal determinant of relative tolerance within phalaris. Shoot manganese concentrations causing 10% yield reduction ranged from 730 to 2200 8g g-1 dry wt. The greater tolerance of phalaris compared with the other species was due to lower manganese uptake and higher internal tolerance. Presence of aluminium in the solution did not increase the susceptibility of phalaris to manganese toxicity. Aluminium strongly reduced manganese uptake in phalaris. It is concluded that selection for manganese tolerance need be only of low priority in developing a phalaris cultivar with improved tolerance of acid soils.


1990 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 933 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Ewing ◽  
AD Robson

The study tested the hypothesis that annual medic species which nodulate well in acid soils in the field (M. murex Willd. and M. polymorpha L.) will nodulate better in acid solutions with low calcium concentrations than annual medics which nodulate poorly in acid soils (M, truncatula Gaertn.). Effects of pH (5.5 and 6.5) and calcium concentration (0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2 mM) on the early growth and nodulation of three annual medic species (M. truncatula, M. polymorpha and M. murex) were investigated. Increasing pH or calcium concentration did not increase plant growth for any of the species. However, nodulation was generally depressed by low pH for all species. Increasing calcium concentration in solution increased nodulation in all species. Effects of low pH and low calcium concentration in decreasing nodule number were much greater for M. truncatula than for M. polymorpha and M. murex. At pH 5.5, M. truncatula failed to nodulate at any calcium concentration, whereas a large proportion of M. murex plants nodulated at 1 mM calcium and some M. polymorpha plants nodulated at 2 mM calcium. At pH 6.5, M. polymorpha required 1 mM calcium in solution for maximum nodule number, and M. murex only 0.5 mM calcium, whereas nodule number for M. truncatula increased up to 2 mM calcium, the highest concentration used. The results provide the basis for a simple screening system to distinguish differences among annual medics in nodulation tolerance to acidity. The maintenance of ranking among species with respect to nodulation over a wide range of stresses induced by combinations of low pH and calcium concentration suggest that screening using a single stress combining these two components would be adequate. Nodulation differences between species can be simply and effectively assessed using a scoring system combining number size and location of nodules.


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