Le. Fuentes-ramirez et al., Colonization of sugarcane by Acetobacter diazotrophicus is inhibited by high N-fertilization, FEMS MIC EC, 29(2), 1999, pp. 117-128
Acetobacter diazotrophicus is a nitrogen-fixing endophytic bacterium, origi
nally isolated from sugarcane. Its colonizing ability was evaluated in high
and low N-fertilized sugarcane plants by inoculating stem-cuts with a beta
-glucuronidase marked A. diazotrophicus strain. Bacterial quantification by
the most probable number technique showed a severe decrease of A. diazotro
phicus cells in plants fertilized with high levels of nitrogen. The inocula
ted strain was detected inside low N-fertilized sugarcane plants by histoch
emical staining of beta-glucuronidase and scanning electron microscopy. A.
diazotrophicus was found mainly inside cortical cells of stems and inside x
ylem vessels. No beta-glucuronidase activity was observed in non-inoculated
plants. High nitrogen fertilization of fields might be a threat to maintai
ning naturally occurring endophytic associations. (C) 1999 Federation of Eu
ropean Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All ri
ghts reserved.