Improvement of Ni phytostabilization by inoculation of Ni resistant Bacillus megaterium SR28C.

The use of metal tolerant plants for the phytostabilization of metal contaminated soil is an area of extensive research and development. In this study the effects of inoculation of Ni-resistant bacterial strains on phytostabilization potential of various plants, including Brassica juncea, Luffa cylindrica and Sorghum halepense, were studied. A Ni-resistant bacterial strain SR28C was isolated from a nickel rich serpentine soil and identified as Bacillus megaterium based on the morphological features, biochemical characteristics and partial 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The strain SR28C tolerated concentrations up to 1200 mg Ni L(-1) on a Luria-Bertani (LB) agar medium. Besides, it showed high degree of resistance to various metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr) and antibiotics (ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, penicillin and kanamycin) tested. In addition, the strain bound considerable amounts of Ni in their resting cells. Besides, the strain exhibited the plant growth promoting traits, such as solubilization of phosphate and production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in modified Pikovskayas medium and LB medium, respectively in the absence and presence of Ni. Considering such potential, the effects of SR28C on the growth and Ni accumulation of B. juncea, L. cylindrica and S. halepense, were assessed with different concentrations of Ni in soil. Inoculation of SR28C stimulated the biomass of the test plants grown in both Ni contaminated and non-contaminated soils. Further, SR28C alleviated the detrimental effects of Ni by reducing its uptake and translocation to the plants. This study suggested that the PGPB inoculant due to its intrinsic abilities of growth promotion and attenuation of the toxic effects of Ni could be exploited for phytostabilization of Ni contaminated site.