Two new nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the rhizosphere of mangrove trees: their isolation, identification and in vitro interaction with rhizosphere Staphylococcus sp
Holguin, G.; Guzman, A.; Bashan, Y.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology 101(3): 207-216
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0168-6496
DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.1992.tb01657.x
Accession: 002537453
Two new diazotrophic bacteria, Listonella anguillarum and Vibrio campbellii, and one non-nitrogen-fixing bacterium, Staphylococcus sp., were isolated from the rhizosphere of mangrove trees. Strains of these newly-defined diazotrophs are known as pathogenic bacteria in fish and shellfish. During the purification of diazotrophic species from the entire rhizosphere population, N2-fixation of the bacterial mixtures decreased. When grown in vitro in mixed cultures, the nonfixing bacterium Staphylococcus sp. increased the nitrogen-fixing capacity of L. anguillarum by 17% over the pure culture; the nitrogen-fixing capacity per bacterial cell increased 22%. This interaction was not due to a change in O2 concentration. Staphylococcus sp. decreased the nitrogen-fixing capacity of V. campbellii by 15%. These findings indicate that (i) other species of rhizosphere bacteria, apart from the common diazotrophic species, should be evaluated for their contribution to the nitrogen-fixation process in mangrove communities; and (ii) the nitrogen-fixing activity detected in the rhizosphere of mangrove plants is probably not the result of individual nitrogen-fixing strains, but the sum of interactions between members of the rhizosphere community.