Evaluating lodgepole pine endophytes for their ability to fix nitrogen and support tree growth under nitrogen-limited co
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Evaluating lodgepole pine endophytes for their ability to fix nitrogen and support tree growth under nitrogen-limited conditions Akshit Puri
& Kiran Preet Padda & Chris P Chanway
Received: 29 January 2020 / Accepted: 17 August 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Aims The Sub-Boreal Pine-Spruce xeric-cold (SBPSxc) biogeoclimatic region in British Columbia, Canada is characterized by weakly-developed soils, thin organic forest floor and limited plant-available nitrogen. Yet, lodgepole pine trees are thriving in this region unaffected by these nitrogen-limitations, which led us to hypothesize that endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacteria could be playing a potential role in sustaining pine tree growth. Methods We evaluated these endophytes in a yearlong greenhouse experiment with their native host (lodgepole pine) for in planta nitrogen-fixation (15N isotope dilution assay) and growth-promotion (length and biomass). These endophytes were also evaluated with a foreign host native to the SBPSxc region (hybrid white spruce) in another yearlong greenhouse trial. Results Each bacterial strain considerably enhanced seedling length and biomass of pine and spruce along
with fixing significant amount of nitrogen from atmosphere (15–50%). Notably, Caballeronia sordidicola HP-S1r strain fixed 49–50% of the host nitrogen from atmosphere and enhanced seedling length and biomass by up to 1.5-fold and 4-fold, respectively. Conclusions Endophytic bacteria could be playing a crucial role in the survival of lodgepole pine trees in the SBPSxc region by providing them with significant amounts of fixed nitrogen. Their effectiveness with a foreign host (hybrid white spruce) shows the lack of plant x microbe specificity, indicating their potential role in supporting the growth of multiple boreal forest trees. Keywords Lodgepole pine . Endophyte . Diazotroph . Pinus . Picea . Biological nitrogen fixation
Introduction Responsible Editor: Katharina Pawlowski Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04687-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. A. Puri (*) : K. P. Padda : C. P. Chanway Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia, 3041 – 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada e-mail: [email protected] C. P. Chanway Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, The University of British Columbia, 3041 – 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) is regarded as a ubiquitous species in Western North America with an extensive ecological amplitude. It has one of the widest ranges of environmental tolerance among any coniferous species in North America since it thrives on an array of soil, moisture and topographical conditions (Lotan and Critchfield 1996). It is unique among conifer species in its ability to thrive on nutrient-poor and fire-affected sites that are severely limited
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