Marco Andreolli

Endophytic Burkholderia fungorum DBT1 can improve phytoremediation efficiency of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Burkholderia fungorum DBT1 is a bacterial strain isolated from an oil refinery discharge and capable of transforming dibenzothiophene, phenanthrene, naphthalene, and fluorene. In order to evaluate the influence of a policyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-transforming bacterial strain on the phytoremediation of organic contaminants, B. fungorum DBT1 was inoculated into hybrid poplar (Populus deltoides×Populus nigra). The poplar plants were grown for 18-wk with or without naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluorene and dibenzothiophene (488mgkg(-1) soil each) in non-sterile sand-peat substrate. Evidences were gained that B. fungorum DBT1 was present in high concentration in poplar root tissues (2.9-9.5×10(3)CFUg(-1)), while the strain was not detected in stem, leaves and rhizosphere. When poplar was planted in uncontaminated substrate, the infection caused negative effects on biomass index, leaves and stem dry weight, without showing however any disease symptoms. On the other hand, plants inoculated with the strain DBT1 resulted in better tolerance against the toxic effects of PAHs, in terms of root dry weight. Although the presence of plants acted as the main effective treatment for PAH dissipation (82-87%), the inoculum with DBT1 strain lead to the highest PAH abatement (up to 99%). In the present study, an environmental isolate with proper metabolic features was demonstrated to be possibly suitable as a poplar endophyte for improving microbe-assisted phytoremediation in PAH contaminated matrices.

Promotion of arsenic phytoextraction efficiency in the fern Pteris vittata by the inoculation of As-resistant bacteria: a soil bioremediation perspective

A greenhouse pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of arsenic phytoextraction by the fern Pteris vittata growing in arsenic-contaminated soil, with or without the addition of selected rhizobacteria isolated from the polluted site. The bacterial strains were selected for arsenic resistance, the ability to reduce arsenate to arsenite, and the ability to promote plant growth. P. vittata plants were cultivated for 4 months in a contaminated substrate consisting of arsenopyrite cinders and mature compost. Four different experimental conditions were tested: (i) non-inoculated plants; (ii) plants inoculated with the siderophore-producing and arsenate-reducing bacteria Pseudomonas sp. P1III2 and Delftia sp. P2III5 (A); (iii) plants inoculated with the siderophore and indoleacetic acid-producing bacteria Bacillus sp. MPV12, Variovorax sp. P4III4, and Pseudoxanthomonas sp. P4V6 (B), and (iv) plants inoculated with all five bacterial strains (AB). The presence of growth-promoting rhizobacteria increased plant biomass by up to 45% and increased As removal efficiency from 13% without bacteria to 35% in the presence of the mixed inoculum. Molecular analysis confirmed the persistence of the introduced bacterial strains in the soil and resulted in a significant impact on the structure of the bacterial community.

Bioaugmentation and biostimulation as strategies for the bioremediation of a burned woodland soil contaminated by toxic hydrocarbons: a comparative study.

In this work, the natural attenuation strategy (no soil amendments done) was compared with two different bioremediation approaches, namely bioaugmentation through soil inoculation with a suspension of Trichoderma sp. mycelium and biostimulation by soil addition with a microbial growth promoting formulation, in order to verify the effectiveness of these methods in terms of degradation efficiency towards toxic hydrocarbons, with particular attention to the high molecular weight (HMW) fraction, in a forest area impacted by recent wildfire in Northern Italy. The area under investigation, divided into three parcels, was monitored to figure out the dynamics of decay in soil concentration of C₁₂₋₄₀ hydrocarbons (including isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, alkyl-benzenes and alkyl-naphthalenes besides PAHs) and low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs, following the adoption of the foregoing different remediation strategies. Soil hydrocarbonoclastic potential was even checked by characterizing the autochthonous microbial cenoses. Field experiments proved that the best performance in the abatement of HMW hydrocarbons was reached 60 days after soil treatment through the biostimulation protocol, when about 70% of the initial concentration of HMW hydrocarbons was depleted. Within the same time, about 55% degradation was obtained with the bioaugmentation protocol, whilst natural attenuation allowed only a 45% removal of the starting C12-40 hydrocarbon fraction. Therefore, biostimulation seems to significantly reduce the time required for the remediation, most likely because of the enhancement of microbial degradation through the improvement of nutrient balance in the burned soil.

Diversity of bacterial endophytes in 3 and 15 year-old grapevines of Vitis vinifera cv. Corvina and their potential for plant growth promotion and phytopathogen control

This study represents the first investigation on ecology of endophytic bacteria isolated from 3 and 15 year-old vine stems of Vitis vinifera cv. Corvina. The analysis was performed by means of culture-dependent techniques. The obtained results showed that new grapevine endophytic genera are being discovered. Moreover, Bacilli and Actinobacteria are frequently isolated from 3 year-old plants, whereas Alpha- and Gamma- Proteobacteria classes are more prevalent in the 15 year-old plants. Shannon-Wiener (H) index and analysis of rarefaction curves revealed greater genus richness in young grapevine plants. Furthermore, results evidenced an increase of genotypic group number within specific genera (e.g., Rhizobium and Pantoea). Among isolated strains from 3 and 15 year-old stems, respectively, 34 and 39% produce siderophores; 22 and 15% secrete ammonia; 22 and 21% produce indole-3-acetic acid; 8.7 and 41% solubilize phosphate. Besides, two strains isolated from 15 year-old grapevines showed 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity. Antifungal activity analysis evidenced that two Bacillus strains possess growth antagonistic effect toward all the tested fungal strains. Therefore, the present study extends our knowledge of the diversity of the endophytic bacteria by providing new insights into the complexity of the grapevine microbiome.

Diversity, Distribution and Functional Role of Bacterial Endophytes in Vitis vinifera

Associations between microorganisms and botanical species play an important role in the ability of plants to survive and thrive in diverse environments, by better facing unfavorable climatic and edaphic conditions or by determining either a greater vegetative development or possibly the resistance to diseases and pests. In this article, we focus on the relationship between grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and its endophytic plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), i.e., the endophytes that stimulate and facilitate grapevine growth. Most previous studies have considered the ability of such microbes to help plants draw nutrients from the soil or to counter the effect of phytopathogens. Here, we discuss recent studies concerning the infection process, the spatiotemporal localization of endophytic PGPB in grapevine, and particularly their contribution to plant growth and defense against pathogens in this important fruit crop.