The date palm tree rhizosphere is a niche for plant growth promoting bacteria in the oasis ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: In arid ecosystems environmental factors such as geoclimatic conditions and agricultural practices are of major importance in shaping the diversity and functionality of plant-associated bacterial communities. Assessing the influence of such factors is a key to understand (i) the driving forces determining the shape of root-associated bacterial communities and (ii) the plant growth promoting (PGP) services they provide. Desert oasis environment was chosen as model ecosystem where agriculture is possible by the microclimate determined by the date palm cultivation. The bacterial communities in the soil fractions associated with the root system of date palms cultivated in seven oases in Tunisia were assessed by culture-independent and dependent approaches. According to 16S rRNA gene PCR-DGGE f

SUBMITTER: Ferjani R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4383278 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature