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Enterobacter cloacae, an obligatory endophyte of pollen grains of Mediterranean pines

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Abstract

Enterobacter cloacae was found to be associated with the pollen of several Mediterranean pines. The bacterium was detected only in mature pollen ofPinus halepensis, P. brutia, andP. pinea. E. cloacae is considered to be an obligatory endophyte based on its occurrence in disinfected male cones and the successful inoculation of seedlings of the above 3 species withE. cloacae AS1 isolated from pollen ofP. halepensis used as a model strain. Strain AS1 was able to produce indolyl-3-acetic acid (IAA) froml-tryptophan in culture, and this was probably the source of the increased IAA content in the germination medium of pollen. In addition, strain AS1 promoted adventitious root formation in mung bean (Vigna radiata) cuttings. However, it was not possible to obtain bacterium-free pollen to elucidate its role in pollen germination.

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Abbreviations

CFU:

colony-forming units

DCA:

deoxycholate agar

GC-FAME:

gas chromatography of fatty-acid methyl esters

GC-MS:

gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

IAA:

indolyl-3-acetic acid

NA:

nutrient agar

RIA:

radioimmunoassay

SM:

synthetic medium

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 76100, Rehovot, Israel

    A. Madmony & J. Riov

  2. Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 76100, Rehovot, Israel

    L. Chernin, S. Pleban & E. Peleg

Authors
  1. A. Madmony
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  2. L. Chernin
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  3. S. Pleban
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  4. E. Peleg
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  5. J. Riov
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Additional information

The research was supported by theIsraeli Forest Organization (The Jewish National Fund). Analysis of the isolates by GC-FAME was kindly performed by Dr. J. Kloepper (Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA).

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Madmony, A., Chernin, L., Pleban, S. et al. Enterobacter cloacae, an obligatory endophyte of pollen grains of Mediterranean pines. Folia Microbiol 50, 209–216 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931568

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931568

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