Root-adhering soil (RAS) forms the immediate environment where plants take up water and nutrients for their growth. We report the effect of an exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing rhizobacterium (strain YAS34) on the physical properties of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) RAS, associated with plant growth promotion, under both water stress and normal water supply conditions. Strain YAS34 was isolated as a major EPSproducing bacterium from the rhizoplane of sunflowers grown in a French dystric cambisol. Strain YAS34 was assigned to the Rhizobium genus by 16S ribosomal DNA gene sequencing. Inoculation of sunflower seeds and soil with strain YAS34 caused a significant increase in RAS per root dry mass (dm) (up to 100%) and a significant increase in soil macropore volume (12 to 60 m in diameter). The effect of inoculation on sunflower shoot dm (up to ؉50%) and root dm (up to ؉70%) was significant under both normal and water stress conditions. Inoculation with strain YAS34 modified soil structure around the root system, counteracting the negative effect of water deficit on growth. Using [15 N]nitrate, we showed that inoculation made the use of fertilizer more effective by increasing nitrogen uptake by sunflower plantlets.Soil structure has a strong impact on a range of processes influencing crop yield. The basic units of soil structure, named aggregates, comprise solid material and pores. These aggregates determine the mechanical and physical properties of soil such as retention and movement of water, aeration, and temperature (16). Aggregate formation is an important factor controlling germination and root growth (17).Several studies have shown that formation of stable aggregates strongly depends on both the nature and the content of organic matter (10,12,14,18,29). Unstable aggregates generally have a lower content of organic matter than do stable ones (24). Plant roots contribute to soil organic material, and thereby to soil aggregate stability, directly through the root material itself (36) and indirectly through stimulation of microbial activity in the rhizosphere (4). It is generally believed that microbial action on soil aggregation is due to the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) (25). This is supported by experimental observations demonstrating that the amendment of soil with microbial EPS results in an increased soil aggregation (14, 26).The influence of microbes on aggregate stability has largely been studied in bulk soil (15,25,34). Relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of microorganisms, particularly EPS-producing rhizobacteria, on the aggregation of root-adhering soil (RAS) (3,36). Understanding the effects of microorganisms on RAS aggregation is important because RAS forms the immediate environment where plants take up water and nutrients for their growth. Factors liable to change the physical properties of RAS can be expected to modify absorption of water and minerals by plants. In previous work, we found that inoculation of wheat with Paenibacillus polymyxa (selected for its nit...

Our data showing that HOXC8 overexpression is associated with the loss of tumor differentiation in human prostate cancer suggests that HOXC8 may play a role in the acquisition of the invasive and metastatic phenotype of this malignancy.

No abstract

Rhizobacteria closely related to two recently described species of pseudomonads, Pseudomonas brassicacearum and Pseudomonas thivervalensis, were isolated from two geographically distinct wheat field soils in South Australia. Isolation was undertaken by either selective plating or immunotrapping utilizing a polyclonal antibody raised against P. brassicacearum. A subset of 42 isolates were characterized by amplified 16S ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), BIOLOG analysis, and gas chromatography-fatty acid methyl ester (GC-FAME) analysis and separated into closely related phenetic groups. More than 75% of isolates tested by ARDRA were found to have >95% similarity to either Pseudomonas corrugata or P. brassicacearum-P. thivervalensis type strains, and all isolates had >90% similarity to either type strain. BIOLOG and GC-FAME clustering showed a >70% match to ARDRA profiles. Strains representing different ARDRA groups were tested in two soil types for biological control activity against the soilborne plant pathogen Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, the causative agent of take-all of wheat and barley. Three isolates out of 11 significantly reduced takeall-induced root lesions on wheat plants grown in a red-brown earth soil. Only one strain, K208, was consistent in reducing disease symptoms in both the acidic red-brown earth and a calcareous sandy loam. Results from this study indicate that P. brassicacearum and P. thivervalensis are present in Australian soils and that a level of genetic diversity exists within these two novel species but that this diversity does not appear to be related to geographic distribution. The result of the glasshouse pot trial suggests that some isolates of these species may have potential as biological control agents for plant disease.