Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutants
Abstract Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria and other soil bacteria have the potential to improve soil hydro‐physical properties and processes through the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). However, the mechanisms by which EPS mediates changes in soil properties and processes...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Vadose Zone Journal |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20274 |
| _version_ | 1797688208041967616 |
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| author | Fatema Kaniz Wenjuan Zheng Harsh Bais Yan Jin |
| author_facet | Fatema Kaniz Wenjuan Zheng Harsh Bais Yan Jin |
| author_sort | Fatema Kaniz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria and other soil bacteria have the potential to improve soil hydro‐physical properties and processes through the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). However, the mechanisms by which EPS mediates changes in soil properties and processes remain incompletely understood, partly due to variations in EPS composition produced under different environmental conditions. In this study, we investigated the influence of different bacterial traits on intrinsic soil properties and processes of evaporation and infiltration using sand treated with the wild‐type Bacillus subtilis variant (UD1022) and its two mutant variants, eps−–tasA− and srfAC−. The eps−–tasA− mutant suppresses EPS production through alterations in the eps and tasA genes, while the srfAC− mutant lacks the gene for surfactin production. Experimental results confirmed that the solution viscosity of the eps−–tasA− mutant was the lowest and the solution surface tension of the srfAC− mutant was the highest among the three tested bacteria strains. The distinct intrinsic properties of EPS produced by these bacterial strains resulted in varied hydro‐physical responses in the treated sand. Key influences included modifications in wettability, hydraulic decoupling (or mixed wettability), and aggregation, which collectively led to reduced evaporation rates and heterogeneous water distribution during infiltration in the bacteria‐treated sands. Our findings advance the understanding of the role bacterial EPS play in vadose zone hydrology and offer insights for the development of sustainable strategies for increasing water retention, supporting crop production in arid regions, and facilitating land restoration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:27:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1156f927130e45a990612856bd7476e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1539-1663 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:27:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vadose Zone Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-1156f927130e45a990612856bd7476e92023-09-12T09:49:24ZengWileyVadose Zone Journal1539-16632023-09-01225n/an/a10.1002/vzj2.20274Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutantsFatema Kaniz0Wenjuan Zheng1Harsh Bais2Yan Jin3Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware NewarkDelawareUSACollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University NanjingP. R. ChinaDepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware NewarkDelawareUSADepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware NewarkDelawareUSAAbstract Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria and other soil bacteria have the potential to improve soil hydro‐physical properties and processes through the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). However, the mechanisms by which EPS mediates changes in soil properties and processes remain incompletely understood, partly due to variations in EPS composition produced under different environmental conditions. In this study, we investigated the influence of different bacterial traits on intrinsic soil properties and processes of evaporation and infiltration using sand treated with the wild‐type Bacillus subtilis variant (UD1022) and its two mutant variants, eps−–tasA− and srfAC−. The eps−–tasA− mutant suppresses EPS production through alterations in the eps and tasA genes, while the srfAC− mutant lacks the gene for surfactin production. Experimental results confirmed that the solution viscosity of the eps−–tasA− mutant was the lowest and the solution surface tension of the srfAC− mutant was the highest among the three tested bacteria strains. The distinct intrinsic properties of EPS produced by these bacterial strains resulted in varied hydro‐physical responses in the treated sand. Key influences included modifications in wettability, hydraulic decoupling (or mixed wettability), and aggregation, which collectively led to reduced evaporation rates and heterogeneous water distribution during infiltration in the bacteria‐treated sands. Our findings advance the understanding of the role bacterial EPS play in vadose zone hydrology and offer insights for the development of sustainable strategies for increasing water retention, supporting crop production in arid regions, and facilitating land restoration.https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20274 |
| spellingShingle | Fatema Kaniz Wenjuan Zheng Harsh Bais Yan Jin Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutants Vadose Zone Journal |
| title | Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutants |
| title_full | Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutants |
| title_fullStr | Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutants |
| title_short | Plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro‐physical properties: An investigation with Bacillus subtilis and its mutants |
| title_sort | plant growth promoting rhizobacteria mediate soil hydro physical properties an investigation with bacillus subtilis and its mutants |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20274 |
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