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Synergistic plant–microbe interactions between endophytic bacterial communities and the medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza uralensis F.

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Abstract

Little is known about the composition, diversity, and geographical distribution of bacterial communities associated with medicinal plants in arid lands. To address this, a collection of 116 endophytic bacteria were isolated from wild populations of the herb Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch (licorice) in Xinyuan, Gongliu, and Tekesi of Xinjiang Province, China, and identified based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences. The endophytes were highly diverse, including 20 genera and 35 species. The number of distinct bacterial genera obtained from root tissues was higher (n = 14) compared to stem (n = 9) and leaf (n = 6) tissue. Geographically, the diversity of culturable endophytic genera was higher at the Tekesi (n = 14) and Xinyuan (n = 12) sites than the Gongliu site (n = 4), reflecting the extremely low organic carbon content, high salinity, and low nutrient status of Gongliu soils. The endophytic bacteria exhibited a number of plant growth-promoting activities ex situ, including diazotrophy, phosphate and potassium solubilization, siderophore production, auxin synthesis, and production of hydrolytic enzymes. Twelve endophytes were selected based on their ex situ plant growth-promoting activities for growth chamber assays to test for their ability to promote growth of G. uralensis F. and Triticum aestivum (wheat) plants. Several strains belonging to the genera Bacillus (n = 6) and Achromobacter (n = 1) stimulated total biomass production in both G. uralensis and T. aestivum under low-nutrient conditions. This work is the first report on the isolation and characterization of endophytes associated with G. uralensis F. in arid lands. The results demonstrate the broad diversity of endophytes associated with wild licorice and suggest that some Bacillus strains may be promising candidates for biofertilizers to promote enhanced survival and growth of licorice and other valuable crops in arid environments.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region regional coordinated innovation project (Shanghai Cooperation Organization Science and Technology Partnership Program) (No. 2017E01031). Li Li was supported by China Scholarship Council to study in the United States of America (No. 201509655013). Osama A. A. Mohamad was supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative (No. 2016PB024) and Available Position Talented Young Scientists Program of Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No. P-EG-16-01).

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  1. Li Li and Osama Abdalla Abdelshafy Mohamad have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Urumqi, 830011, China

    Li Li, Osama Abdalla Abdelshafy Mohamad, Jinbiao Ma, Yangui Su, Yun Wang, Zulpiya Musa, Yonghong Liu & Wenjun Li

  2. School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA

    Li Li, Ariel D. Friel & Brian P. Hedlund

  3. Institute for Post Graduate Environmental Studies, Environmental Science Department, Arish University, North-Sinai, 45516, Egypt

    Osama Abdalla Abdelshafy Mohamad

  4. College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830046, China

    Zulpiya Musa

  5. State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Wenjun Li

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10482_2018_1062_MOESM1_ESM.tiff

Figure S1. Bacterial species distribution of culturable endophytic isolates from Glycyrrhiza uralensis F based on 16S rRNA gene sequences for all sites. Supplementary material 1 (TIFF 764 kb)

10482_2018_1062_MOESM2_ESM.tiff

Figure S2. Distribution of endophytic isolates and species isolated from Glycyrrhiza uralensis F based on different media. Supplementary material 2 (TIFF 688 kb)

10482_2018_1062_MOESM3_ESM.tiff

Figure S3. Confirmation of plant growth promotion traits by a color change or halo zone on the selective medium (A: Protease; B: Cellulase; C: Lipase; D: Nitrogen; E: Phosphorus; F: Potassium; G: Siderophore; H: IAA). Supplementary material 3 (TIFF 2689 kb)

10482_2018_1062_MOESM4_ESM.tiff

Figure S4. Effect of endophytic isolates on the growth of Glycyrrhiza uralensis F compared with an uninoculated control (CK). Supplementary material 4 (TIFF 4374 kb)

10482_2018_1062_MOESM5_ESM.tiff

Figure S5. Effect of endophytic isolates on the growth of Triticum aestivum compared with an uninoculated control (CK). Supplementary material 5 (TIFF 3684 kb)

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Supplementary material 9 (DOCX 35 kb)

Supplementary material 10 (DOCX 15 kb)

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Li, L., Mohamad, O.A.A., Ma, J. et al. Synergistic plant–microbe interactions between endophytic bacterial communities and the medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza uralensis F.. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 111, 1735–1748 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-018-1062-4

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