African Journal of
Microbiology Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1996-0808
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJMR
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 5228

Full Length Research Paper

Isolation and characterization of Azotobacteria from pine rhizosphere

Chengqun Lü* and Baoling Huang
College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 28 May 2010
  •  Published: 18 June 2010

Abstract

 

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria contain Nitrogen-fixing, Phosphorus- solubilizing, Potassium-solubilizing and other bio-active bacteria. Utilization of microbial Nitrogen fixation, Phosphorus- and Potassium-solubilizing activities can facilitate plant growth and avoid the lack of soil nutrients. This study used the plate dilution method to screen and isolate pro-biotic bacteria from the rhizosphere of pine trees, growing on the outskirts of Nanning City, Guangxi Province China. 16S rDNA was sequenced for the bacteria with strong biological activities. A total of 23 Azotobacter strains were isolated from the rhizosphere of Pinus massoniana Lamb. All of them presented Nitrogenase activity. Particularly, strain N4 and N9 had a strong Nitrogenase activity of 260.975 nmol C2H4/h·L and 149.787 nmol C2H4/h·L, respectively. Six Phosphorus-solubilizing strains were isolated, among which P3 and P1 had a strong Phosphorus-solubilizing ability of 7.00 and 3.87 µg/ml, respectively. Among the 5 Potassium-solubilizing strains, K6 had a strong Potassium-solubilizing ability of 2.3 µg/ml. The ability of the strains to solubilize Phosphorus and Potassium was significantly correlated with the composition of the culture medium. All the Potassium-solubilizing strains belong to the genus ofBurkholderia. The Phosphorus-solubilizing strains include Enterobacter, Pseudomonas and Serratia marcescens. Nitrogen-fixing strains includeEnterobacter, Burkholderia, Rhizobium, Erwinia, Agrobacterium and Gamma proteobacterium.

 

Key words: Pinus; phosphate-solubilizing bacteria; potassium-solubilizing bacteria; Azotobacter; 16SrDNA.