Microbial Activity in the Rhizosphere in Relation to the Iron Nutrition of Plants

Iron is the fourth most abundant element in the soil, but since it forms insoluble hydroxides at neutral and basic pH, it often falls short of meeting the basic requirements of plants and microorganisms. Most aerobic and facultative aerobic microorganisms possess a high-affinity Fe transport system in which siderophores are excreted and the consequent Fe complex is taken up via a cognate specific receptor and a transport pathway. The role of the siderophore in Fe uptake by plants and microorganisms was the focus of this study. In this research Rhizopus arrhizus was found to produce a novel siderophore named Rhizoferrin when grown under Fe deficiency. This compound was purified and its chemical structure was elucidated. Fe-Rhizoferrin was found to alleviate Fe deficiency when applied to several plants grown in nutrient solutions. It was concluded that Fe-Rhizoferrin is the most efficient Fe source for plants when compared with other among microbial siderophores known to date and its activity equals that of the most efficient synthetic commercial iron fertilizer-Fe EDDHA. Siderophores produced by several rhizosphere organisms including Rhizopus Pseudomonas were purified. Monoclonal antibodies were produced and used to develop a method for detection of the siderophores produced by plant-growth-promoting microorganisms in barley rhizosphere. The presence of an Fe-ferrichrome uptake in fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. was demonstrated, and its structural requirements were mapped in P. putida with the help of biomimetic ferrichrome analogs. Using competition experiments, it was shown that FOB, Cop B and FC share at least one common determinant in their uptake pathway. Since FC analogs did not affect FOB or Cop-mediated 55Fe uptake, it could be concluded that these siderophores make use of a different receptor(s) than FC. Therefore, recognition of Cop, FOB and FC proceeds through different receptors having different structural requirements. On the other hand, the phytosiderophores mugineic acid (MA and DMA), were utilized indirectly via ligand exchange by P. putida. Receptors from different biological systems seem to differ in their structural requirements for siderophore recognition and uptake. The design of genus- or species-specific drugs, probes or chemicals, along with an understanding of plant-microbe and microbe-microbe relationships as well as developing methods to detect siderophores using monoclonal antibodies are useful for manipulating the composition of the rhizosphere microbial population for better plant growth, Fe-nutrition and protection from diseases.