Plant roots and microorganisms interact and compete for nutrients within the rhizosphere, which is considered one of the most biologically complex systems on Earth. Unraveling the nitrogen (N) cycle is key to understanding and managing nutrient flows in terrestrial ecosystems, yet to date it has proved impossible to analyze and image N transfer in situ within such a complex system at a scale re...

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 ...

We tested whether the presence of plant roots would impair the uptake of ammonium ([Formula: see text]), glycine, and glutamate by microorganisms in a deciduous forest soil exposed to constant or variable moisture in a short-term (24-h) experiment. The uptake of (15)NH4 and dual labeled amino acids by the grass Festuca gigantea L. and soil microorganisms was determined in planted and unplanted ...

The presence of fungicides in the natural environment, either resulting from deliberate actions or not, has become a serious threat to many ecosystems, including soil. This can be prevented by taking appropriate measures to clear the environment of organic contamination, including fungicides. Therefore, a study was conducted aimed at determining the effect of bioaugmentation of soil exposed to ...

Isolation and screening of microorganisms from oil contaminated soil samples with biosurfactant producing ability was investigated. The biosurfactant producing ability of the microorganisms isolated from the soil samples was investigated by hemolytic assay, drop collapse test, emulsification index and methylene blue agar plate method. The best isolate was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa ba...

Soil-borne diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms are one of the main factors responsible for the decline in crop yields in farmlands. Pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum causes serious damage to various crops, and, thus, a feasible diagnostic method for soil-borne diseases is required. We herein examined a simple method to evaluate the suppressiveness of soil microorganisms against a pathogen ...

Soils generally contain adequate amount of inorganic and organic phosphorous but most of these remain unavailable to plants. The efficiency of water soluble phosphorus alone is usually low and soluble phosphorus when added to soil along with phosphate solubilizing microorganisms indicates utilization. The presence of soil microorganisms capable of transforming insoluble phosphorus to soluble fo...

Introduction Natural variations of the C/C ratio have been frequently used over the last three decades to trace C sources and fluxes between plants, microorganisms, and soil. Most of these studies have used the natural C labelling approach, i.e. natural δC variation after C3 – C4 vegetation changes. In this mini-review, we focus on C fractionation in processes at the interface between roots, mi...

The rhizosphere represents the thin layer of soil surrounding plant roots and the soil occupied by the roots, supports large active groups of microorganisms. The vast organic compounds (amino acids, sugars etc.) secreted by plant roots in the rhizosphere provide a food source for microorganisms increasing microbial biomass and their activity in the rhizosphere. Antibiotics are antimicrobial com...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are major pollutants globally and due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic properties their clean-up is paramount. Bioremediation or using PAH degrading microorganisms (mainly bacteria) to degrade the pollutants represents cheap, effective methods. These PAH degraders harbor functional genes which help microorganisms use PAHs as source of food and energy. ...