Community Structure of Heavy Metal Immobilized Bacteria in the Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Rhizosphere in Soil Polluted by Heavy Metals and Its Effects on Reducing Heavy Metal Accumulation in Lettuce

Abstract

To investigate the diversity of culturable bacteria and heavy metal-immobilizing bacteria in vegetable rhizosphere soil with high concentrations of heavy metals and explore these microbial resources, two samples of Italian lettuce rhizosphere soil with high heavy metal concentration (HY) and low heavy metal concentration (DK) were collected from Xinxiang, Henan Province. The diversity of culturable bacteria and heavy metal-immobilizing bacteria in the rhizosphere soil of lettuce was compared by culturable separation technology and a solution adsorption experiment. The enhancement of Cd and Pb immobilization and lettuce growth by the strains was also investigated in a hydroponic experiment. The results showed that 400 strains belonging to 3 phyla and 14 genera were isolated from the HY sample, with β-Proteobacteria being the dominant phylum. Meanwhile, 400 strains belonging to 4 phyla and 30 genera were isolated from the DK sample, with Firmicutes being the dominant phylum. A total of 146 strains had a strong ability to immobilize heavy metal and the Cd and Pb removal rates were greater than 80% in the HY sample; Brevundimonas, Serratia, Arthrobacter, and Pseudarthrobacter were the main genera. However, 44 strains had a strong ability to immobilize heavy metal and the Cd and Pb removal rates were greater than 80% in the DK sample, with Bacillus being the main genus. Compared with the control, inoculation with Serratia liquefaciens HY-22, Bacillus thuringiensis HY-53, and Acinetobacter lwoffii HY-157 significantly increased the dry weight of roots (7.5%-77.6%) and shoots (15.4%-67.2%) of the Italian lettuce and cauliflower lettuce and reduced the contents of Cd (38.7%-66.6%) and Pb (34.7%-62.5%) in roots and shoots of Italian lettuce. In addition, the contents of Cd and Pb in the fresh shoots of Italian lettuce and cauliflower lettuce in the presence of Bacillus thuringiensis HY-53 were lower than the Cd and Pb limits set by national food safety standards. Thus, the results provided strain resources and a theoretical basis for the remediation of Cd-and Pb-contaminated farmlands for the safe production of crops.