E. Bent et Cp. Chanway, The growth-promoting effects of a bacterial endophyte on lodgepole pine are partially inhibited by the presence of other rhizobacteria, CAN J MICRO, 44(10), 1998, pp. 980-988
To test the hypothesis that rhizobacteria naturally present in soils may in
terfere with the extent of root colonization and plant growth promotion by
plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), we studied two lodgepole pine
PGPR (Bacillus polymyxa strains L6 and Pw-2) when inoculated singly and whe
n coinoculated with a non-PGPR competitor (Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens PF
322). Bacillus polymyxa Pw-2 and Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens PF322 were c
onsistently found as endophytes, while Bacillus polymyxa L6 was never found
within the root interior. Strains Pw-2 and L6 differed in the rate and typ
e of growth promotion. Strain Pw-2 increased root growth (branching and elo
ngation) and shoot biomass accumulation 6 and 9 weeks, respectively after i
noculation, while strain L6 increased primary root elongation and root biom
ass accumulation after 12 weeks. Seedlings coinoculated with Pw-2 and PF322
had decreased shoot biomass and primary root lengths when compared with se
edlings inoculated only with Pw-2. This effect was not linked to a decrease
in the population size of Pw-2 in the rhizosphere or in the root interior
of coinoculated treatments. Ln contrast, strain L6-mediated growth promotio
n was not impaired by coinoculation with PF322. Strain L6 did interfere to
some degree with the growth-promoting capability of strain Pw-2. These resu
lts indicate that endophytic PGPR may be less adapted to microbial competit
ion than external root-colonizing PGPR, and that the efficacy of endophytic
PGPR may be reduced by the presence of other bacteria on external or inter
nal root tissues.