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Exploring the rhizospheric and endophytic bacterial communities of Acer pseudoplatanus growing on a TNT-contaminated soil: towards the development of a rhizocompetent TNT-detoxifying plant growth promoting consortium

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A Commentary to this article was published on 16 October 2014

Abstract

Background and aims

Numerous microorganisms have been isolated from trinitrotoluene (TNT)-contaminated soils, however TNT tends to persist, indicating that the microbial biomass or activity is insufficient for degradation. Deep-rooting trees at military sites have been found to take-up contaminants from groundwater, and the extensive root and endosphere provide ideal niches for microbial TNT-transformations.

Methods

We characterised the rhizosphere, root endosphere and endo-phyllosphere bacteria of Acer pseudoplatanus growing at a historically TNT-contaminated location, using 16S rRNA gene fingerprinting, bacteria isolation, oxidoreductase gene-cloning, in planta growth-promotion (PGP) tests, inoculation, plant physiology measurements and microscopy.

Results

Based on terminal-restriction-fragment-length-polymorphism analysis, bulk soil and rhizosphere samples were highly clustered. Proteo- and Actinobacteria dominated the rhizosphere and root endosphere, whereas Alphaproteobacteria were more abundant in shoots and Actinobacteria in leaves. We isolated multiple PGP-bacteria and cloned 5 flavin-oxidoreductases belonging to the Old Yellow Enzyme family involved in TNT-reduction from 3 Pseudomonas spp., the leaf symbiont Stenotrophomonas chelatiphaga and the root endophyte Variovorax ginsengisola.

Conclusions

The inoculation with a selection of these strains, consortium CAP9, which combines efficient TNT-transformation capabilities with beneficial PGP-properties, has the ability to detoxify TNT in the bent grass (Agrostis capillaris) rhizosphere, stimulate plant growth and improve plant health under TNT stress.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from FWO-Flanders, Belgium, the Methusalem project 08M03VGRJ and partially by grant BIO2010-17227 of the Spanish Ministry of Competitiveness and FEDER. We thank Col Peter Philipsen, Cdt Herman Van Broeck and ADM Daniel Proot from the Belgian Defence for providing the TNT-sampling site. We thank Jenny Put for her technical help with the measurements of the HPLC-samples and dr. Regina-Michaela Wittich for her assistance with the ion-pair HPLC analysis. Moreover, we thank prof. dr. Tom Artois for the use of the fluorescence microscope, Rik Paesen for his help with the confocal microscope, prof. dr. Guido Bloemberg for providing the egfp and mCherry-plasmids and dr. Jonathan Van Hamme for proofreading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, Diepenbeek, 3590, Belgium

    Sofie Thijs, Wouter Sillen, Sascha Truyens, Michelle Holtappels, Robert Carleer, Nele Weyens & Jaco Vangronsveld

  2. Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Calle Profesor, Albareda 1, 18008, Granada, Spain

    Pieter Van Dillewijn

  3. Instituut voor Materiaalonderzoek (IMO), Campus Diepenbeek, Wetenschapspark 1, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium

    Jan D´Haen

  4. Hasselt University, Transnational University Limburg, Biomedical Research Institute, School of Life Sciences, Agoralaan Building C, Diepenbeek, 3590, Belgium

    Marcel Ameloot

  5. Abengoa Research, Avenida de la Energía Solar 1, Edificio G-2a pl, Campus Palmas Altas, E-41014, Sevilla, Spain

    Juan-Luis Ramos

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  1. Sofie Thijs
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Correspondence to Sofie Thijs.

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Thijs, S., Van Dillewijn, P., Sillen, W. et al. Exploring the rhizospheric and endophytic bacterial communities of Acer pseudoplatanus growing on a TNT-contaminated soil: towards the development of a rhizocompetent TNT-detoxifying plant growth promoting consortium. Plant Soil 385, 15–36 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2260-0

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