Experimental verification of the contribution of plant-associated bacteria as a sink for greenhouse gases

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25660282
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental agriculture(including landscape science)
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: KANNO Manabu 独立行政法人産業技術総合研究所, 生物プロセス研究部門, 主任研究員 (10462847)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KAMAGATA Yoichi 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生命工学領域研究戦略部, 研究戦略部長 (70356814) ; TAMAKI Hideyuki 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生物プロセス研究部門, 主任研究員 (00421842)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 微生物 / 植物共生細菌 / 放線菌 / 水素 / 一酸化炭素 / 生物地球化学 / 大気物質循環 / 地球温暖化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to verify whether microbes living in plants contribute to the uptake of greenhouse gases, we focused on plant-associated bacteria possessing the ability to consume atmospheric hydrogen (H2), which acts as an indirect greenhouse gas. First, we detected the gene hhyL - encoding the large subunit of high-affinity [NiFe]-hydrogenase - in various plant species, suggesting that high-affinity H2-oxidizing plant-associated bacteria are widely distributed. Among 145 endophytic isolates, 7 Streptomyces strains were shown to possess hhyL gene and exhibit high- or intermediate-affinity uptake activity, reducing H2 concentration to less than ambient level. Inoculation of sterilized seedlings with selected isolates resulted to endophytic colonization visualized by FISH analysis. Cell-specific H2 uptake activity displayed by the plant tissues was comparable to the activity measured in soil, demonstrating the ability of plant-associated streptomycetes to consume atmospheric H2 in situ.

Free Research Field

微生物学