This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bagwell, C. E.
Right arrow Articles by Lovell, C. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bagwell, C. E.
Right arrow Articles by Lovell, C. R.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Bagwell, C. E.
Right arrow Articles by Lovell, C. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 1998, p. 4276-4282, Vol. 64, No. 11
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Physiological Diversity of the Rhizosphere Diazotroph Assemblages of Selected Salt Marsh Grasses

Christopher E. Bagwell, Yvette M. Piceno, Amy Ashburne-Lucas, and Charles R. Lovell*

Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208

Received 18 June 1998/Accepted 26 August 1998

Rhizosphere diazotroph assemblages of salt marsh grasses are thought to be influenced by host plant species and by a number of porewater geochemical parameters. Several geochemical variables can adversely affect plant productivity and spatial distributions, resulting in strong zonation of plant species and growth forms. This geochemically induced stress may also influence the species compositions and distributions of rhizosphere diazotroph assemblages, but little is currently known about these organisms. The diversity and key physiological features of culturable, O2-tolerant rhizosphere diazotrophs associated with the tall and short growth forms of Spartina alterniflora and with Juncus roemerianus were examined. A total of 339 gram-negative strains were isolated by a root stab culture approach and morphologically and physiologically characterized by using API and BIOLOG tests. Eighty-six distinct groups composed of physiologically similar strains were identified. Of these groups, 72% were shown to be capable of N2 fixation through molecular analyses, and a representative strain was chosen from each diazotroph group for further characterization. Cluster and principal-components analysis of BIOLOG data allowed the designation of physiologically distinct strain groupings. Most of these groups were dominated by strains that were not identifiable to species on the basis of API or BIOLOG testing. Representatives of several families including the Enterobacteriaceae, Vibrionaceae, Azotobacteraceae, Spirillaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Rhizobiaceae were recovered, as well as strains with no clear taxonomic affiliations. This study identifies numerous potentially important physiological groups of the salt marsh diazotroph assemblage.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. Phone: (803) 777-7036. Fax: (803) 777-4002. E-mail: lovell{at}biol.sc.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 1998, p. 4276-4282, Vol. 64, No. 11
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Gutierrez, C. K., Matsui, G. Y., Lincoln, D. E., Lovell, C. R. (2009). Production of the Phytohormone Indole-3-Acetic Acid by Estuarine Species of the Genus Vibrio. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 2253-2258 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Crump, B. C., Koch, E. W. (2008). Attached Bacterial Populations Shared by Four Species of Aquatic Angiosperms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 5948-5957 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Criminger, J. D., Hazen, T. H., Sobecky, P. A., Lovell, C. R. (2007). Nitrogen Fixation by Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Its Implications for a New Ecological Niche. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 5959-5961 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Burke, D. J., Hamerlynck, E. P., Hahn, D. (2002). Interactions among Plant Species and Microorganisms in Salt Marsh Sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 1157-1164 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Beeson, K. E., Erdner, D. L., Bagwell, C. E., Lovell, C. R., Sobecky, P. A. (2002). Differentiation of plasmids in marine diazotroph assemblages determined by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis. Microbiology 148: 179-189 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bagwell, C. E., Lovell, C. R. (2000). Persistence of Selected Spartina alterniflora Rhizoplane Diazotrophs Exposed to Natural and Manipulated Environmental Variability. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 4625-4633 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lovell, C. R., Piceno, Y. M., Quattro, J. M., Bagwell, C. E. (2000). Molecular Analysis of Diazotroph Diversity in the Rhizosphere of the Smooth Cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 3814-3822 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»