Potential for plant growth promotion by a consortium of stress-tolerant 2,4-dinitrotoluene-degrading bacteria: isolation and characterization of a military soil.

ABSTRACT: The presence of explosives in soils and the interaction with drought stress and nutrient limitation are among the environmental factors that severely affect plant growth on military soils. In this study, we seek to isolate and identify the cultivable bacteria of a 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) contaminated soil (DS) and an adjacent grassland soil (GS) of a military training area aiming to isolate new plant growth-promoting (PGP) and 2,4-DNT-degrading strains. Metabolic profiling revealed disturbances in Ecocarbon use in the bare DS; isolation of cultivable strains revealed a lower colony-forming-unit count and a less diverse community associated with DS in comparison with GS. New 2,4-DNT-tolerant strains were identified by selective enrichments, which were further characterized by auxanography

SUBMITTER: Thijs S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4241723 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature