Two Isolates From Plants Cultivated in Red Lateritic Soils are Good Candidates for the Development of Microbial Biostimulants.

Phosphorus is essential for plant growth, yet its availability in soils is extremely limited, with less than 0.1% accessible to plants. Though phosphate fertilizers are frequently employed to address this deficiency, a significant portion of the applied phosphorus is quickly fixed and unavailable to plants.

Maize drought protection by Azospirillum argentinense Az19 requires bacterial trehalose accumulation.

Azospirillum argentinense Az19 is an osmotolerant plant growth-promoting bacterium that protects maize plants from drought. In this work, we explored the role of trehalose in the superior performance of Az19 under stress. The trehalase-coding gene treF was constitutively expressed in Az19 through a miniTn7 system.

Inoculation with Azospirillum argentinense Az19 improves the yield of maize subjected to water deficit at key stages of plant development.

Water deficit constitutes a severe limitation to agricultural productivity. In the context of sustainable crop production, the potential of microbial biotechnology to increase plant drought tolerance and improve crop yields under adverse conditions is gaining relevance. This work aimed to compare the performance of Azospirillumargentinense strain Az19 to that of strain Az39, the most widely used for commercial inoculants, when inoculated in maize plants exposed to water deficit.

Azospirillum baldaniorum Sp245 exploits Pseudomonas fluorescens A506 biofilm to overgrow in dual-species macrocolonies.

Biofilms are essential for plant-associated bacteria to colonize their host. In this work, we analysed the interaction of Azospirillum baldaniorum Sp245 and Pseudomonas fluorescens A506 in mixed macrocolony biofilms. We identified certain culture conditions where A.

Potential of rhizobacteria native to Argentina for the control of Meloidogyne javanica.

Biocontrol of the nematode Meloidogyne javanica was studied using the Argentinean strains Pseudomonas fluorescens MME3, TAE4, TAR5 and ZME4 and Bacillus sp. B7S, B9T and B19S. Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 was used as a positive control.

Friends or foes in the rhizosphere: traits of fluorescent Pseudomonas that hinder Azospirillum brasilense growth and root colonization.

Bacteria of the Azospirillum and Pseudomonas genera are ubiquitous members of the rhizosphere, where they stimulate plant growth. Given the outstanding capacity of pseudomonads to antagonize other microorganisms, we analyzed the interaction between these two bacterial groups to identify determinants of their compatibility. We could establish that, when in direct contact, certain Pseudomonas strains produce lethality on Azospirillum brasilense cells using an antibacterial type 6 secretion system.

Successful production of the potato antimicrobial peptide Snakin-1 in baculovirus-infected insect cells and development of specific antibodies.

Background: Snakin-1 (StSN1) is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial cysteine-rich peptide isolated from Solanum tuberosum. Its biotechnological potential has been already recognized since it exhibits in vivo antifungal and antibacterial activity. Most attempts to produce StSN1, or homologous peptides, in a soluble native state using bacterial, yeast or synthetic expression systems have presented production bottlenecks such as insolubility, misfolding or low yields.

Molecular identification of Azospirillum spp.: Limitations of 16S rRNA and qualities of rpoD as genetic markers.

Since their discovery, plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria from the genus Azospirillum have been subjected to intensive research due to their biotechnological potential as crop inoculants. Phylogenetic analysis of Azospirillum spp. is carried out by 16S rRNA sequencing almost exclusively, but inconsistencies and low confidence often arise when working with close species.

Plant-associated fluorescent Pseudomonas from red lateritic soil: Beneficial characteristics and their impact on lettuce growth.

Fluorescent Pseudomonas are ubiquitous soil bacteria that usually establish mutualistic associations with plants, promoting their growth and health by several mechanisms. This makes them interesting candidates for the development of crop bio-inoculants. In this work, we isolated phosphate-solubilizing fluorescent Pseudomonas from the rhizosphere and inner tissues of different plant species growing in red soil from Misiones, Argentina.

AcMNPV core gene ac109 is required for budded virion transport to the nucleus and for occlusion of viral progeny.

The Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) ac109 core gene has been previously characterized as an essential late gene. Our results showed that budded virions could be detected in supernatants of infected Sf-9 cells, even when ac109 knockout viruses displayed a single-cell infection phenotype. Moreover, confocal microscopy analysis revealed that budded virions can enter the cytoplasm but are unable to enter the cell nucleus.

In vivo subcellular localization of Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV) non-structural proteins in insect cells reveals their putative functions.

The in vivo subcellular localization of Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV, Fijivirus, Reoviridae) non-structural proteins fused to GFP was analyzed by confocal microscopy. P5-1 showed a cytoplasmic vesicular-like distribution that was lost upon deleting its PDZ binding TKF motif, suggesting that P5-1 interacts with cellular PDZ proteins. P5-2 located at the nucleus and its nuclear import was affected by the deletion of its basic C-termini.

Reference gene selection for gene expression studies using RT-qPCR in virus-infected planthoppers.

Background: Planthoppers not only severely affect crops by causing mechanical damage when feeding but are also vectors of several plant virus species. The analysis of gene expression in persistently infected planthoppers might unveil the molecular basis of viral transmission. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) is currently the most accurate and sensitive method used for quantitative gene expression analysis.

Functional and biochemical properties of Mal de Río Cuarto virus (Fijivirus, Reoviridae) P9-1 viroplasm protein show further similarities to animal reovirus counterparts.

Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV) is a plant virus of the genus Fijivirus within the family Reoviridae that infects several monocotyledonous species and is transmitted by planthoppers in a persistent and propagative manner. Other members of the family replicate in viral inclusion bodies (VIBs) termed viroplasms that are formed in the cytoplasm of infected plant and insect cells. In this study, the protein coded by the first ORF of MRCV segment S9 (P9-1) was shown to establish cytoplasmic inclusion bodies resembling viroplasms after transfection of Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells.

Virus infection elevates transcriptional activity of miR164a promoter in plants.

Background: Micro RNAs (miRs) constitute a large group of endogenous small RNAs that have crucial roles in many important plant functions. Virus infection and transgenic expression of viral proteins alter accumulation and activity of miRs and so far, most of the published evidence involves post-transcriptional regulations.

Results: Using transgenic plants expressing a reporter gene under the promoter region of a characterized miR (P-miR164a), we monitored the reporter gene expression in different tissues and during Arabidopsis development.