Seasonal Variation in the Rhizospheric Microbial Diversity of the Weedy Plants

Abstract

Plant-microbe interaction forms the intrinsic part of our ecosystem. This interaction is responsible for remediating contaminants, sequestration of carbon, plant disease control and plant growth promotion. Phytoremediation capabilities can be determined by thriving microbial communities and variation in their species composition. The composition of soil microbiome is affected by various factors such as environment, climate and plant genotype. In the present study, we have assessed the seasonal variation in the bacterial community structure in the rhizospheric microbiome of weedy plants, Acorus calamus, Typha latifolia, and Phragmites karka using T-RFLP. The bacterial phyla dominating the summer season belonged to Proteobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes were seen to abundant in P.karka followed by A.calamus and T.latifolia. During the winter season the bacterial phyla that dominated belonged to the phylum Bacetriodetes, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes were found abundant in P. karka followed by A. calamus and T. latifolia. Diversity indices of the bacterial community were assessed. The result of this study shows the presence of seasonal variation in bacterial phyla which can act as the potential candidates for the remediation process.