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Differences in Exudates Between Strains of Chlorella sorokiniana Affect the Interaction with the Microalga Growth-Promoting Bacteria Azospirillum brasilense

Differences in Exudates Between Strains of Chlorella sorokiniana Affect the Interaction with the Microalga Growth-Promoting Bacteria Azospirillum brasilense

  • Plant Microbe Interactions
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Abstract

The microalga Chlorella sorokiniana and the microalgae growth-promoting bacteria (MGPB) Azospirillum brasilense have a mutualistic interaction that can begin within the first hours of co-incubation; however, the metabolites participating in this initial interaction are not yet identified. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used in the present study to characterize the metabolites exuded by two strains of C. sorokiniana (UTEX 2714 and UTEX 2805) and A. brasilense Cd when grown together in an oligotrophic medium. Lactate and myo-inositol were identified as carbon metabolites exuded by the two strains of C. sorokiniana; however, only the UTEX 2714 strain exuded glycerol as the main carbon compound. In turn, A. brasilense exuded uracil when grown on the exudates of either microalga, and both microalga strains were able to utilize uracil as a nitrogen source. Interestingly, although the total carbohydrate content was higher in exudates from C. sorokiniana UTEX 2805 than from C. sorokiniana UTEX 2714, the growth of A. brasilense was greater in the exudates from the UTEX 2714 strain. These results highlight the fact that in the exuded carbon compounds differ between strains of the same species of microalgae and suggest that the type, rather than the quantity, of carbon source is more important for sustaining the growth of the partner bacteria.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

Funding was provided by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología of Mexico (CONACYT Basic Science-2017, grant 284562).

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Author notes

  1. Oskar A. Palacios and José C. Espinoza-Hicks contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Nuevo Circuito Universitario S/N, Chihuahua, México

    Oskar A. Palacios, José C. Espinoza-Hicks & Alejandro A. Camacho-Dávila

  2. The Bashan Institute of Science, 1730 Post Oak Court, Auburn, AL, 36830, USA

    Oskar A. Palacios, José C. Espinoza-Hicks, Blanca R. López & Luz E. de-Bashan

  3. Environmental Microbiology Group, Northwestern Center for Biological Research (CIBNOR), Av. IPN 195, 23096, La Paz, B.C.S, Mexico

    Blanca R. López & Luz E. de-Bashan

  4. Dept. of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, 301 Funchess Hall, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Luz E. de-Bashan

Authors
  1. Oskar A. Palacios
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  2. José C. Espinoza-Hicks
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  3. Alejandro A. Camacho-Dávila
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  4. Blanca R. López
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  5. Luz E. de-Bashan
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Contributions

OP and JCEH participated equally in designing, performing the experiments, analyzing the data and writing the initial draft. AACD analyze and interpret the data from NMR, BRL assisted in the experiments and help with the initial draft of the manuscript. LEdeB discussed the experimental setting, supervised the experiments, and critically revised the article for intellectual content, including the manuscript’s final version. All the authors read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luz E. de-Bashan.

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This research does not involve human or animal subjects.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

This study is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Yoav Bashan (1953–2018), pioneer in MGPB field and founder of Bashan Institute of Science, USA.

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Palacios, O.A., Espinoza-Hicks, J.C., Camacho-Dávila, A.A. et al. Differences in Exudates Between Strains of Chlorella sorokiniana Affect the Interaction with the Microalga Growth-Promoting Bacteria Azospirillum brasilense. Microb Ecol 85, 1412–1422 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-022-02026-4

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