Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul 8;6(7):e04278.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04278. eCollection 2020 Jul.

Linking rhizosphere bacterial diversity and soil fertility in tobacco plants under different soil types and cropping pattern in Tanzania: A pilot study

Jacob Bulenga Lisuma  1   2 , Zavuga Zuberi  3   4 , Patrick Alois Ndakidemi  1 , Ernest Rashid Mbega  1
Affiliations

Linking rhizosphere bacterial diversity and soil fertility in tobacco plants under different soil types and cropping pattern in Tanzania: A pilot study

Jacob Bulenga Lisuma et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), one of the major crop plants in Tanzania, cropping affects the level of soil fertility, but the reason has not been known. Plant rhizosphere plays an important role in affecting soil fertility through changing microbial composition. We planned a pilot study to understand the changes in microbial composition and soil nutrients in the rhizosphere soils of tobacco in three agro-ecological zone, namely Sikonge, Tabora and Urambo in Tanzania. This study assessed bacteriota composition using 16S rRNA sequencing and soil fertility in the rhizosphere of tobacco plants. The results showed that bacterial diversity in tobacco rhizosphere soils belonged to Proteobacteria phyla, associated significantly (p < 0.05) with solubilization of insoluble P, K and S. The solubilization of P, K and S in soils facilitates the availability of these nutrients to the tobacco plants (a heavy feeder crop) allows low levels of these nutrients in the soils for the subsequent crop. The Proteobacteria phyla also associated with an increase in soil N content through fixation. Therefore, bacteria diversity in tobacco rhizosphere influence solubilities of macronutrients (P, K, S) and quickly up taken by the tobacco plant and reduces their levels in soils, some bacteria involved in fixing N and increases total N in the soil.

Keywords: Agriculture; Bacteria; Microbiology; Soil fertility; Soil science.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of pilot study areas: Sikonge (1), Tabora (2) and Urambo (3).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relative abundances (%) of phylum for each cropping system in Sikonge, Tabora and Urambo.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relative abundancies of bacteria phyla in different soil types and cropping systems.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Heatmap indicating the phyla relative abundance in ZM (maize), NT (tobacco) and control.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Observed and Shannon Diversity Index showing location and treatment Phylum level diversity. Locations: Sikonge, Tabora and Urambo did not differ significantly. Treatments: Crops differed significantly on phylum levels. A horizontal line across inside the graphics represents the median.
Figure 6
Figure 6
PCoA of the crop treatments and pilot locations based on bacteria phyla abundance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ahmad M., Nadeem S.M., Naveed M., Zahir Z.A. Potassium Solubilizing Microorganisms for Sustainable Agriculture. Springer; New Delhi: 2016. Potassium-solubilizing bacteria and their application in agriculture; pp. 293–313.
    1. Alain K., Querellou J., Lesongeur F., Pignet P., Crassous P., Raguénès G., Cueff V., Cambon-Bonavita M.A. Caminibacter hydrogeniphilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel thermophilic, hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium isolated from an East Pacific Rise hydrothermal vent. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2002;52(4):1317–1323. - PubMed
    1. Aslam Z., Yasir M., Yoon H.S., Jeon C.O., Chung Y.R. Diversity of the bacterial community in the rice rhizosphere managed under conventional and no-tillage practices. J. Microbiol. 2013;51(6):747–756. - PubMed
    1. Baginski R., Sommerhalter M. A manganese catalase from Thermomicrobium roseum with peroxidase and catecholase activity. Extremophiles. 2017;21(1):201–210. - PubMed
    1. Balsanelli E., Serrato R.V., Pedrosa F.O., Souza E.M., Monteiro R.A. Biological Nitrogen Fixation; 2015. Role of Herbaspirillum Seropedicae LPS in Plant Colonization; pp. 949–954.

LinkOut - more resources