Open AccessCharacterization of mineral phosphate solubilization traits from a barley rhizosphere soil functional metagenome
Author(s) -
Chhabra Sagar,
Brazil Dina,
Morrissey John,
Burke James I.,
O'Gara Fergal,
N. Dowling David
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
microbiologyopen
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.881
H-Index - 36
ISSN - 2045-8827
DOI - 10.1002/mbo3.110
Subject(s) - rhizosphere , fosmid , metagenomics , biology , escherichia coli , microorganism , microbiome , phosphate , enterococcus faecium , soil microbiology , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , chemistry , bacteria , genetics
Mineral phosphate solubilization (MPS) microorganisms are important for their provision of orthophosphate anions for plant growth promotion activity in soil. In this study, we applied a functional metagenomic approach to identify this trait directly from the microbiome in barley rhizosphere soil that had not received P fertilizer over a 15‐year period. A fosmid system was used to clone the metagenome of which 18,000 clones (~666 Mb of DNA) was screened for MPS. Functional assays and High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis recognized gluconic acid production and MPS activity in the range 24.8–77.1 mmol/L and 27.6–38.16 μg/mL, respectively, when screened in an Escherichia coli host (at frequency of one MPS‐positive clone hit per 114 Mb DNA tested). The MPS clones (with average insert size of ~37 kb) were analysed by 454 Roche sequencing and annotated. A number of genes/operons with homology to Phosphorous (P) uptake, regulatory and solubilization mechanisms were identified, linking the MPS function to the uncultivated microbiome present in barley rhizosphere soil.