Authors: L RousselDelif S Tarnawski J Hamelin L Philippot M Aragno N Fromin
Publish Date: 2005/01/11
Volume: 49, Issue: 1, Pages: 63-72
Abstract
A total of 1246 Pseudomonas strains were isolated from the rhizosphere of two perennial grasses Lolium perenne and Molinia coerulea with different nitrogen requirements The plants were grown in their native soil under ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 content pCO2 at the Swiss FACE Free Air CO2 Enrichment facility Root rhizosphere and nonrhizospheric soil–associated strains were characterized in terms of their ability to reduce nitrate during an in vitro assay and with respect to the genes encoding the membranebound named NAR and periplasmic NAP nitrate reductases so far described in the genus Pseudomonas The diversity of corresponding genes was assessed by PCRRFLP on narG and napA genes which encode the catalytic subunit of nitrate reductases The frequency of nitratedissimilating strains decreased with root proximity for both plants and was enhanced under elevated pCO2 in the rhizosphere of L perenne NAR 54 of strains as well as NAP 49 forms were present in nitratereducing strains 155 of the 439 strains tested harbouring both genes The relative proportions of narG and napA detected in Pseudomonas strains were different according to root proximity and for both pCO2 treatments the NAR form was more abundant close to the root surface and for plants grown under elevated pCO2 Putative denitrifiers harbored mainly the membranebound NAR form of nitrate reductase Finally both narG and napA sequences displayed a high level of diversity Anyway this diversity was correlated neither with the root proximity nor with the pCO2 treatmentThis work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant numbers 310005589998 and 316820802 We are also grateful to the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research NCCR “Plant Survival” We thank MarieLaure Heusler for technical assistance Jakob Zopfi and Raymond Flynn for English corrections and Jacqueline Moret for statistical analysis
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