Bacillus promotes invasiveness of exotic Flaveria bidentis by increasing its nitrogen and phosphorus uptake

Aim The effect of exotic plants on Bacillus diversity in the rhizosphere and the role of Bacilli in exotic or native plant species remain poorly understood. Flaveria bidentis is an invasive grass in China. Setaria viridis is a native grass and occurs in areas invaded by F. bidentis. Our objectives were (i) to examine the differences in the Bacillus communities between F. bidentis and S. viridis rhizospheres soil, and (ii) to compare the effects of Bacilli from F. bidentis and S. viridis rhizospheres on the competitiveness of the invasive species. Methods Flaveria bidentis monoculture, mixture of F. bidentis and S. viridis and S. viridis monoculture were designed in the field experiment. Bacillus diversity in their rhizosphere was analyzed using 16S rRNA. One of the dominant Bacilli in the rhizosphere soil of F. bidentis was selected to test its effect on the competitive growth of F. bidentis in a greenhouse experiment. Important Findings Bacillus diversity differed in F. bidentis and S. viridis rhizosphere. Brevibacterium frigoritolerans was the dominant Bacilli in the rhizosphere of both F. bidentis and S. viridis; however, its relative abundance in the F. bidentis rhizosphere was much higher than that in the S. viridis rhizosphere. In addition, B. frigoritolerans in the F. bidentis rhizosphere enhanced the growth of the plant compared to that of S. viridis by improving the nitrogen and phosphorus levels. This study showed that F. bidentis invasion influenced Bacillus communities, especially B. frigoritolerans, which, in turn, facilitated F. bidentis growth by increasing the levels of available nitrogen and phosphorus.

Nitrogen Uptake, Not Transfer of Carbon and Nitrogen by CMN, Explains the Effect of AMF on the Competitive Interactions Between Flaveria bidentis and Native Species

Rhizophagus intraradices, one of the common arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) grown in the roots of Flaveria bidentis, facilitates the invasion of this exotic plant species into China. However, it is still unknown whether nutrient transfer through the common mycorrhizal networks (CMN) between this exotic species and the native species enhances the competitive growth of F. bidentis over the native species. To elucidate this question and the related mechanism, an isotopic labeling technique was used to test the transfer of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) by CMN. Native species like Setaria viridis and Eclipta prostrata were selected to compete with F. bidentis in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) box. Two competitive groups (F. bidentis-S. viridis and F. bidentis- E. prostrata), three treatments (monoculture of F. bidentis, the mixture of F. bidentis and the native plant, and the monoculture of the native plant), and two levels of AMF (presence or absence) were assigned. Results showed that the corrected index of relative competition intensity (CRCI) of F. bidentis in the presence of AMF < 0 suggests that the competition facilitated the growth of F. bidentis with either S. viridis or E. prostrata. The reason was that the inoculation of R. intra radices significantly increased the C and N contents of F. bidentis in the mixtures. However, the effects of R. intra radices on the two native species were different: negative effect on the growth of S. viridis and positive effect on the growth of E. prostrata. The change of N content in S. viridis or E. prostrata was consistent with the variation of the biomass, suggesting that the N uptake explains the effects of R. intraradices on the competitive interactions between F. bidentis and the two native species. Moreover, the transfer of C and N via AMF hyphal links did occur between F. bidentis and the native species. However, the transfer of C and N by the CMN was not positively related to the competitive growth of F. bidentis.

Caracterización citológica en Flaveria bidentis y F. haumanii (Asteraceae)

Resumen:Antecedentes y Objetivos: Flaveria es un género americano integrado por 23 especies y representado en Argentina por dos de ellas, ambas nativas y anuales: F. bidentis (la cual es considerada maleza de agroecosistemas) y F. haumanii. El género tiene un número cromosómico básico de x=18 y los antecedentes citológicos son referidos a F. bidentis, pero no así para F. haumanii. El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizar citogenéticamente a F. bidentis y F. haumanii a través del análisis cariotípico, el comportamiento meiótico y la estimación de la viabilidad de los granos de polen.Métodos: El material fue recolectado en la provincia de Santiago del Estero (Argentina). Las raíces fueron pretratadas con 8-hidroxiquinoleina 0.002 M durante ocho horas. Inflorescencias y raíces fueron fijadas en Farmer y conservadas en alcohol etílico al 70% en frío. Para la tinción de los cromosomas se utilizó hematoxilina propiónica al 2%. La viabilidad de los granos de polen se estimó mediante las soluciones colorantes de Mützing y DAF.Resultados clave: Flaveria bidentis y F. haumanii poseen como número cromosómico esporofítico 2n=36, con un cariotipo unimodal simétrico. El comportamiento meiótico es regular y en diacinesis se observó n=18 bivalentes; la viabilidad estimada de los granos de polen fue superior a 90%.Conclusiones: Se mencionan por primera vez los números cromosómicos esporofíticos y gametofíticos de F. haumanii; además, se completa la informacióncitogenética para F. bidentis a través del análisis de la meiosis. Estos son los primeros datos relacionados con la viabilidad de los granos de polen.Palabras clave: cariotipo, comportamiento meiótico, mitosis, viabilidad del polen.