Caracterização de novos rizóbios isolados de raízes de cana-de-açúcar

Abstract

Recent molecular biology studies have indicated that bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium and Rhizobium may also play a role in the biological nitrogen fixation process (BNF) when associated with sugarcane. The use of Vigna unguiculata trap plants allowed obtaining a diverse collection of endophytic Bradyrhizobium spp. from sugarcane roots. The present work aimed to characterize a group of bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium from sugarcane roots, as well as to evaluate the ability of a representative strain of this group and an isolate of the genus Rhizobium to promote growth in this crop. To define the taxonomic position of the isolates of the group, phylogenetic analyzes were performed with the individual 16S rRNA, ITS, nodC and recA genes and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) involving four housekeeping genes (recA, dnaK, glnII and atpD), in four representative isolates (BR 10280T, BR 10266, BR 10555 and BR 10556). In addition, biochemical and morphophysiological tests were performed. Experiments in which the isolates P9-20 (BR 10280) (Bradyrhizobium sp.) and P5-2 (Rhizobium sp.) were inoculated in sugarcane seedlings were conducted in a greenhouse to evaluate the growth promoting effect of these isolates. Two harvests were performed at 30 and 75 days after transplanting (DAT). Among the analyzed variables were the budding speed index (BSI), dry mass and total nitrogen (N). Phylogenetic analyzes positioned the isolates in the superclade of B. japonicum in an independent branch close to B. huanghuaihaiense, a soybean micro-symbiont. Despite the proximity of the group under study to B. huanghuaihaiense, these isolates did not induce nodulation in Glycine max. In addition, unlike B. huanghuaihaiense, the new isolates induced nodule formation in Phaseolus vulgaris. In morphophysiological studies, significant differences were demonstrated between the representative isolates from this study and B. huanghuaihaiense. In the greenhouse experiment, an increase on BSI and root dry mass of the inoculated treatment with the P5-2 isolate was observed in the first harvest. In the second harvest, increments were found in the root dry mass and root volume, as well as in the total N of the roots and aerial part, in the treatment inoculated with P5-2, although no statistical difference was detected. These results of the characterization indicate that the sugarcane isolates of the genus Bradyrhizobium represent a new species of this genus. In relation to the greenhouse experiment, the isolate of the genus Rhizobium sp. presented potential as a growth promoter in the sugarcane crop.