Characterizing the association of diazotrophic Burkholderia australis with sugarcane

Plant association with bacteria able to fix atmospheric nitrogen (diazotrophs) is a topic of high importance in agriculture due to its potential to reduce cost and environmental pollutions linked to the excessive use of inorganic N fertilizers. Although symbiosis in legumes is well characterized and understood, the association of diazotrophs with non-legumes represent a relatively new topic of research and is much less understood. Here, we characterize the native association occurring between Australian sugarcane variety Q208A and diazotroph Burkholderia australis which promotes sugarcane growth through Biological Nitrogen Fixation. We focused here on physiological mechanisms involved in this interaction and reveal essential new aspects on the functionality of plant-diazotroph association. Our discoveries represent an entry point for a more deep characterization of general non-legume-diazotrophs association, a system presumably highly elaborated.