Abstract
Thirty-two strains of opine-utilizing rhizobacteria were evaluated for physiological traits which have been related to plant growth-promoting activity. Tests included antibiosis against two bacterial and eight fungal pathogens of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), production of hydrogen cyanide and fluorescent pigment production. On average, 71 and 12% of the bacteria inhibited the growth of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora and Agrobacterium tumefaciens, respectively. The growth of Botrytis sp. was inhibited by 62% of the bacteria, and half of these produced an inhibition zone of more than 7 mm in diameter. Fusarium solani, Colletotrichum coccodes, Phoma exigua, Verticillium dahliae, F. oxysporum, V. albo-atrum and F. sambucinum were antagonized by 43, 34, 31, 25, 19, 18, and 12% of the bacteria, respectively. Only four strains produce hydrogen cyanide. The inhibition of a plant pathogen was not correlated to the production of fluorescent pigment. No strain produced a hypersensitive reaction whereas only three strains induced soft-rot and two produced polygalacturonase. Some opine-utilizing rhizobacteria were strong inhibitors of all plant pathogens, while most were active against specific plant pathogens.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alström S and Burns R G 1989 Cyanide production by rhizobacteria as a possible mechanism of plant growth inhibition. Biol. Fertil. Soils 7, 232–238.
Bakker A W and Schippers B 1987 Microbial cyanide production in the rhizosphere in relation to potato yield reduction and Pseudomonas spp-mediated plant growth-stimulation. Soil. Biol. Biochem. 19, 451–457.
Beauchamp C J, Chilton W S, Dion P and Antoun H 1990a Fungal catabolism of crown gall opines. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56, 150–155.
Beauchamp C J, Kloepper J W, Lifshitz R, Dion P and Antoun H 1990b Frequent occurrence of the ability to utilize octopine in rhizobacteria. Can. J. Microbiol. (Accepted.)
Beaulieu C, Coulombe L J, Granger R L, Miki B, Beauchamp C, Rossignol G and Dion P 1983 Characterization of opine-utilizing bacteria isolated from Québec. Phytoprotection 64, 61–68.
Bouzar H and Moore L W 1987 Isolation of different Agrobacterium biovars from a natural oak savanna and tall grass prairie. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 53, 717–721.
Digat B 1983 Modes d'action et effets des rhizobactéries promotrices de' croissance et du développement des plantes. In Les Antagonismes Microbiens, 24e colloque de la Société française de Phytopathologie. pp 239–253. INRA Publ., Paris.
deWeger L A, van derVlugt C I M, Wijfjes M, Bakker P A H M, Schipper B and Lugtenberg B 1987 Flagella of a plant-growth-stimulating Pseudomonas fluorescens strain are required for colonization of potato roots. J. Bacteriol. 169, 2769–2773.
Gutterson N 1990 Microbial fungicides: recent approaches to elucidating mechanisms. Crit. Rev. Biotechnol. 10, 69–91.
James D WJr, Suslow T V and Steinback K E 1985 Relationship between rapid, firm adhesion and long-term colonization of roots by bacteria. App. Environ. Microbiol 50, 392–397.
Kloepper J W 1990 Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria as biological control agents. In Soil Microbial Technologies Applications in Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York. (In press.)
Kloepper J W, Hume D J, Scher F M, Singleton C, Tipping B, Laliberté M, Frauley K, Kutchaw T, Simonson C, Lifshitz R, Zaleska I and Lee L 1988 Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on canola (rapeseed). Plant Disease 72, 42–46.
Kloepper J W, Lifshitz R and Schroth M N 1988 Pseudomonas inoculants to benefit plant production. ISI Atlas Sc.: Anim. Plant Sci., 60–64.
Kloepper J W, Lifshitz R and Zablotowicz R M 1989 Free-living bacterial inocula for enhancing crop productivity. Trends Biotechnol. 7, 39–44.
Kloepper J W and Schroth M N 1978 Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on radishes. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. Plant Path. Bact. pp 879–882. Gibert-Clorey.
Lifshitz R, Kloepper J W, Kozlowski M, Simonson C, Carlson J, Tipping E M and Zaleska I 1987 Growth promotion of canola (rapeseed) seedlings by a strain of Pseudomonas putida under gnotobiotic conditions. Can. J. Microbiol. 33, 390–395.
Lifshitz R, Kloepper J W, Scher F M, Tipping E M and Laliberté M 1986 Nitrogen-fixing pseudomonads isolated from roots of plants grown in the Canadian High Arctic. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 51, 251–255.
Polonenko D R, Scher F M, Kloepper J W, Singleton C A, Laliberté M and Zaleska I 1987 Effects of root colonizing bacteria on nodulation of soybean roots by Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Can. J. Microbiol. 33, 498–503.
Rossignol G and Dion P 1985 Octopine, nopaline, and octopinic acid utilization in Pseudomonas. Can. J. Microbiol. 31, 68–74.
Schaad N W 1988 Laboratory Guide for Identification of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria. American Phytopathological Society Press. St. Paul, MN. 164 p.
Scher F M, Kloepper J W and Singleton C A 1985 Chemotaxis of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. to soybean seed exudates in vitro and in soil. Can. J. Microbiol. 31, 570–574.
Scher F M, Kloepper J W, Singleton C, Zaleska I and Laliberté M 1988 Colonization of soybean roots by Pseudomonas and Serratia species: Relationship to bacterial motility, chemotaxis, and generation time. Phytopathology 78, 1055–1059.
Schippers B 1988 Biological control of pathogens with rhizobacteria. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 318, 283–293.
Schippers B, Bakker A W and Bakker P A H M 1987 Interactions of deleterious and beneficial rhizosphere microorganisms and the effect of cropping practices. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 25, 339–358.
Schroth M N and Hancock J G 1982 Disease-suppressive soil and root-colonizing bacteria. Science 216, 1376–1381.
Suslow T V 1982 Role of root-colonizing bacteria in plant growth. In Phytopathogenic Prokaryotes. Eds. M SMount and G HLacy. pp 187–223. Academic Press, New York.
Tempé J and Petit A 1983 La piste des opines, In Molecular Genetics of the Bacteria-Plant Interaction. Ed. APühler. pp 14–32. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Thomashow L S and Weller D M 1990 Application of fluorescent pseudomonads to control root diseases of wheat and some mechanisms of disease suppression. In Biological Control of Soil-borne Plant Pathogens. Ed. DHornby. pp 109–122. EAB International, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York. (In press.)
Thompson S P and Skerman V B D 1979 Azotobacteracea: The Taxonomy and Ecology of the Aerobic Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria. Academic Press, New York. 417 p.
Tremblay G, Gagliardo R, Chilton W S and Dion P 1987 Diversity among opine-utilizing bacteria: Identification of coryneform isolates. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 53, 1519–1524.
Voisard C, Kell C, Hass D and Défago G 1989 Cyanide production by Pseudomonas fluorescens helps suppress black root rot of tobacco under gnotobiotic conditions. EMBO J. 8, 351–358.
Weller D M 1988 Biological control of soil borne plant pathogens in the rhizosphere by bacteria. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 26, 379–407.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Beauchamp, C.J., Dion, P., Kloepper, J.W. et al. Physiological characterization of opine-utilizing rhizobacteria for traits related to plant growth-promoting activity. Plant Soil 132, 273–279 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010408
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010408