Bacteria of the Genus Azospirillum Form Biofilms with Enterobacter cloacae K7 in the Root System of Wheat Seedlings
摘要
Biofilm formation is of equal adaptive importance for epiphytic and endophytic rhizobacteria owing to their primary affinity to the surface of plant roots. The type strains Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 and A. baldaniorum Sp245 formed biofilms in the root system of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), mainly in the zones of the root tip and root hairs, as well as at the sites of lateral root formation. Biofilm formation in specific areas of wheat roots was not a characteristic trait of Enterobacter cloacae strain K7, isolated from Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) roots. Strain K7 colonized roots, forming biofilms on the surface of the conduction and suction zones and on the root apex. Strains Sp7/Sp245 and K7 do not engage in antagonistic interactions, and the percentages of the subpopulations of each of the strains were approximately equal in the population of binary biofilms (as was shown for Sp7 and K7). However, the biofilms of the root system of wheat seedlings inoculated with mixed K7–Sp7/Sp245 cultures included areas with isolated multicellular aggregates of the bacteria of each species. Diffuse distribution of Sp7/Sp245 cells among enterobacteria or K7 cells among Azospirillum species is not a typical pattern.