BACKGROUND: Conversion of BLH wetland forests to agriculture is a primary cause of wetland loss in the southeastern United States (Figure 1). Restoration of BLH in abandoned agricultural fields, however, has had limited success. Low survival rates of planted trees are a consequence of several environmental factors such as water stress and herbivory. However, pilot studies of growth of seedlings...

Some bacteria of the soil microflora or of the digestive systems of mammals can grow on aryl beta-glucosides as sole carbon sources. The bgl operon of E. coli is the paradigm for such a catabolic pathway. In Azospirillum irakense, the two adjacent genes salAB encode beta-glucosidases which are required for salicin assimilation. In this report, we analyse the sequence of salC, the last gene to b...

Metabolism of the phenylurea herbicide isoproturon by Sphingomonas sp. strain SRS2 was significantly enhanced when the strain was grown in coculture with a soil bacterium (designated strain SRS1). Both members of this consortium were isolated from a highly enriched isoproturon-degrading culture derived from an agricultural soil previously treated regularly with the herbicide. Based on analysis ...

Detection and quantification of genomic DNA from two ecologically different fungi, the plant pathogen Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli and the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices, was achieved from soil substrate. Specific primers targeting a 362-bp fragment from the SSU rRNA gene region of G. intraradices and a 562-bp fragment from the F. solani f. sp. phaseoli translation elongat...

Shewanella is Gram-negative motile bacillus, non fermentative and facultative anaerobe. Its natural habitat is all forms of water and soil, but has also been isolated from fish, dairy products, oils, and carcasses. Often found with microflora of the marine environment. Bacterial infections with Shewanella spp. are rare. The exposure to the marine environment, sea and diary food are considered a...

Sewage sludge is repeatedly applied as fertilizer on farmland due to its high nutrient content. This may lead to a significant increase of silver nanomaterials (AgNM) in soil over years. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the ecotoxicity and fate of AgNM under environmentally relevant conditions in outdoor lysimeters over 25 months. Two AgNM concentrations (1.7 and 8.0 mg/kg dry matter soil)...

Fungi commonly known for diseases generating and fermentation agents, apart from this some fungi show biodegradation agents. Pesticides are used for controlling plant diseases but when spraying the pesticides only 40% goes at target and the rest in soil environment. So the soil be contaminated and as a result of this useful microflora are affected and soil fertility decline. So, some fungi test...

Study of the effect of pesticides on soil micro flora and their beneficial activities forms an important part of the pesticides risk assessment . The intensive use of these pesticides in agricultural soils, there may be an interaction with soil micro flora and their metabolic activities besides, controlling the different pest population (Baxter and Cummings, 2008). Therefore the behavior of the...

A modification of the Adler capillary assay was used to evaluate the chemotactic responses of several denitrifiers to nitrate and nitrite. Strong positive chemotaxis was observed to NO(3) and NO(2) by soil isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Pseudomonas stutzeri, with the peak response occurring at 10 M for both attractants. In addition, a strong chemoattraction to ...