Wheat grown in Mn-deficient soil has been widely observed to produce much reduced yields. Breeding for Mn-efficient wheat genotypes adapted to Mn-deficient soils would represent a long-term solution for wheat agronomy. To characterize the physiological basis of Mn efficiency in wheat genotypes would facilitate the breeding programs for producing Mn-efficient wheat. Using a solution culture and ...

The soil bacterium and potential biothreat agent Burkholderia pseudomallei causes the infectious disease melioidosis, which is naturally acquired through environmental contact with the bacterium. Environmental detection of B. pseudomallei represents the basis for the development of a geographical risk map for humans and livestock. The aim of the present study was to develop a highly sensitive, ...

A mixed bacterial culture consisted of Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus circulans-I and -II has been enriched from contaminated soil collected from the vicinity of an endosulfan processing industry. The degradation of endosulfan by mixed bacterial culture was studied in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions via batch experiments with an initial endosulfan concentration of 50mg/L. After 3 wee...

It has been consistently reported that bacterial diversity in a given environment as determined by culture techniques represents a small fraction of the total bacterial diversity detected by molecular methods. This may be attributable to a variety of related factors, such as: the limitations of the culture techniques employed; complex interdependencies between microorganisms in soil that cannot...

This study was conducted to verify the effect of an electric pulse on growth of crops (lettuce and hot pepper) that were cultivated in lab-scale soil. The electric pulse generated from direct-circuited 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 V of electricity by periodic exchange of the anode and cathode was charged to a culture soil that is an electrically pulsed culture soil (EPCS) but not charged to a conventiona...

Dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction is a universal process with irreplaceable biological and environmental importance in anoxic environments. Our knowledge about Fe(III) reduction predominantly comes from pure cultures of dissimilatory Fe(III) reducing bacteria (DFRB). The objective of this study was to compare the effects of glucose and a selection of short organic acids (citrate, succinate, pyruv...

Burkholderia pseudomallei is present in the environment in many parts of the world and causes the often-fatal disease melioidosis. The sensitive detection and quantification of B. pseudomallei in the environment are a prerequisite for assessing the risk of infection. We recently reported the direct detection of B. pseudomallei in soil samples using a quantitative PCR (qPCR) targeting a single t...

Orchard understory represents an important component of the orchards, performing numerous functions related to soil quality, water relations and microclimate, but little attention has been paid on its effect on soil C sequestration. In the face of global climate change, fruit producers also require techniques that increase carbon (C) sequestration in a cost-effective manner. Here we present a c...

Representatives of only four well-characterized bacterial phyla were isolated from a pasture soil by using liquid serial dilution culture. In contrast, members of Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Gemmatimonadetes and of other poorly represented bacterial lineages were isolated in earlier experiments with solidified versions of the same media. We conclude that, contrary to expectation, liquid...