Abstract:
Endophytic microbial communities can have strong influence on the growth of their host plants. The present study reports a diazotrophic endophytic bacterial species that colonizes predominantly Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet) and remains stabilized throughout the latter's various growth stages under field conditions. Qualitative and quantitative changes in the endophytic bacterial population structure were examined during the plant growth period at regular intervals of 7 days up to harvesting. DNA fingerprinting (ERIC-PCR) was used as a biomarker to track the identity of various isolates obtained at different time intervals. Identification of representative bacterial species corresponding to different ERIC types was made on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Based on the colony forming unit (cfu) count of bacterial isolates observed at various growth stages, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PM389 was found to be the dominant diazotrophic species among the cultivable endophytes colonizing pearl millet. The population of P. aeruginosa was detected in the host 21 days after sowing (DAS), indicating its entry in plant roots from soil and suggesting its non-vertical transfer in pearl millet. Moreover, an upward migration of this dominant diazotrophic bacterial species to shoots was observed with the plant growth. Further evaluation of P. aeruginosa PM389 revealed its various plant growth promoting properties viz. nitrogen fixation, mineral phosphate solubilization, siderophore production and antagonistic properties.