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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2006, p. 3975-3983, Vol. 72, No. 6
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02771-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Succession of Bacterial Communities during Early Plant Development: Transition from Seed to Root and Effect of Compost Amendment

Stefan J. Green,^1,2, Ehud Inbar,^1,2 Frederick C. Michel Jr.,³ Yitzhak Hadar,¹ and Dror Minz^2*

Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel,¹ Institute of Water, Soil and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan, Israel,² Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio³

Received 23 November 2005/ Accepted 27 March 2006

Compost amendments to soils and potting mixes are routinely applied to improve soil fertility and plant growth and health. These amendments, which contain high levels of organic matter and microbial cells, can influence microbial communities associated with plants grown in such soils. The purpose of this study was to follow the bacterial community compositions of seed and subsequent root surfaces in the presence and absence of compost in the potting mix. The bacterial community compositions of potting mixes, seed, and root surfaces sampled at three stages of plant growth were analyzed via general and newly developed Bacteroidetes-specific, PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis methodologies. These analyses revealed that seed surfaces were colonized primarily by populations detected in the initial potting mixes, many of which were not detected in subsequent root analyses. The most persistent bacterial populations detected in this study belonged to the genus Chryseobacterium (Bacteroidetes) and the family Oxalobacteraceae (Betaproteobacteria). The patterns of colonization by populations within these taxa differed significantly and may reflect differences in the physiology of these organisms. Overall, analyses of bacterial community composition revealed a surprising prevalence and diversity of Bacteroidetes in all treatments.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agriculture Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet-Dagan 50-250, Israel. Phone: 972-3-968-3316. Fax: 972-3-960-4017. E-mail: minz{at}volcani.agri.gov.il.

Present address: Exobiology Branch, NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2006, p. 3975-3983, Vol. 72, No. 6
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02771-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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