This study evaluated the diversity of cultivable plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria associated with apple trees cultivated under different crop management systems and their antagonistic ability against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Samples of roots and rhizospheric soil from apple trees cultivated in organic and conventional orchards in southern Brazil were collected, together with soil sa...

When deposited on land the vinasse can promote improvement in fertility, however, often fertilizer application occurs in areas considered homogeneous, without taking into account the variability of the soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vinasse application on potassium content in two classes of soils cultivated with sugarcane, and characterize the spatial variabilit...

New cultured strains of the planctomycete division (order Planctomycetales) of the domain Bacteria related to species in the genera Gemmata and Isosphaera were isolated from soil, freshwater, and a laboratory ampicillin solution. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene from eight representative isolates showed that all the isolates were members of the planctomycete division. Six isolates clu...

The presence of recombinant DNA in soil cultivated with white poplars (Populus alba L.) expressing either the bar transgene for herbicide tolerance or the StSy transgene for resveratrol production, respectively, was investigated in a greenhouse over a 20-month period. The bar trial included the transgenic lines 5P56 and 6EA22P56 and the untransformed line, while the StSy trial was established w...

The culturability of microorganisms in a 10 cm core of an Australian pasture soil was investigated using a minimal agar medium with xylan as the growth substrate. Culturability decreased with increasing depth, from a maximum of 19% of the total microscopically countable cells in the 0-2 cm section to 2.4% in the 8-10 cm section. Seventy-one isolates from the core were identified by comparative ...

After Clostridium botulinum type G organisms and toxin were identified in necropsy specimens in cases of unexplained death in adults and infants (O. Sonnabend, W. Sonnabend, R. Heinzle, T. Sigrist, R Dirnhofer, and U. Krech, J. Infect. Dis. 143:22-27, 1981), extensive research to detect C. botulinum type G in soil samples from Switzerland was done. A total of 41 specimens from virgin soil and f...

To investigate the possibility of horizontal gene transfer between agricultural microorganisms and soil microorganisms in the environment, Bacillus subtilis KB producing iturin and the PGPR recombinant strain Pseudomonas fluorescens MX1 were used as model microorganisms. The soil samples of cucumber or tomato plants cultivated in pots and the greenhouse for a six month period were investigated ...

This study addresses the growing problem of soil salinity. In Mediterranean regions, disused solid waste landfills have given rise to disturbed ecosystems. At such sites, both mobile soil anions and cations have toxic effects on plants. Thus, detailed knowledge of these effects is needed for the phytoremediation of soils facing the problem of salinization. In this study, high chloride levels we...

The effect of growth medium and incubation time were investigated by determining the number of colonies that were visible on triplicate plates of three different media on daily intervals. The viable counts were significantly different between the three different media even after the first day and this continued for seven days. Colony counts on the three media reached their maximum on the third ...

Aflatoxins are cancer-causing, immuno-suppressive mycotoxins that frequently contaminate important staples in Zambia including maize and groundnut. Several species within Aspergillus section Flavi have been implicated as causal agents of aflatoxin contamination in Africa. However, Aspergillus populations associated with aflatoxin contamination in Zambia have not been adequately detailed. Most o...