Abstract
Red kidney beans (RKBs) are one of the major components in the human diet of Western Indian Himalaya (WIH). Their cultivation in these habitats is strongly influenced by various biotic and abiotic stresses and therefore, there must be a selection of RKB associated microorganisms that are adapted to these harsh conditions. Seven cold adaptive diazotrophs from the same rhizosphere were isolated in our previous study to reveal the low-temperature associated proteins and mechanisms. However, the diversity and phylogenetic affiliations of these rhizosphere diazotrophs are still unknown. In this study, RKB rhizospheric soil from two different agro-ecosystems of WIH namely S1 (Chhiplakot, 30.70°N/80.30°E) and S2 (Munsyari, 30.60°N/80.20°E) were explored for the assessment of nitrogenase reductase gene (nifH) diversity by plating respective clone libraries SN1 and SN2. The RKB rhizosphere diazotroph assemblage was very diverse and apparently consists mainly of the genera Rhizobium, followed by unknown diazotrophic microorganisms. Deduced amino acid sequence analysis revealed the presence of diverse nifH sequences, affiliated with a wide range of taxa, encompassing members of the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. Members of cyanobacteria, methanotrophs and archaea were also detected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first major metagenomic effort that revealed the presence of diverse nitrogen-fixing microbial assemblages in indigenous RKB rhizospheric soil which can further be explored for improved crop yield/productivity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13205-014-0238-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Agriculture is an important livelihood activity in the Himalayan high-altitude agro-ecosystems; preferring the natural farming over chemical based farming, causative for emergence of hilly agri lands as a gold mine for adaptable potential microorganisms
Red kidney beans (RKBs) are one of the major components in the human diet of Western Indian Himalaya (WIH). Their cultivation in these habitats is strongly influenced by various biotic and abiotic stresses and there must be a selection of RKB associated microorganisms that are adapted to these harsh conditions
The primary objective of this study was to examine the ecological and biological patterns of N2-fixing microorganisms in a Himalayan RKB rhizosphere and utilize this information to provide the backbone for future studies
Summary
Agriculture is an important livelihood activity in the Himalayan high-altitude agro-ecosystems; preferring the natural farming over chemical based farming, causative for emergence of hilly agri lands as a gold mine for adaptable potential microorganisms. In these habitats, microbial nitrogen fixation is of particular interest since the low concentration of bio-available nitrogen is one of the key limitations for growth of plants and soil microorganisms (Duc et al 2009). Soni and Goel (2010) identified several nifH homologs from Western Indian Himalayan soil metagenomics and enlighten the nifH phylogeny. Same rhizosphere metagenome was analyzed to examine
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
