16SrRNA of phosphate solubilizing bacteria. phosphate solubilizing bacteria

In this study, isolation and characterization of PSB from rice growing areas of Punjab will be carried out. Efforts will be made to screen P-solubilizers by qualitative and quantitative analyses. Selective growth media amended with different phosphate sources will be used and quantification of solubilized P and organic acids produced for solubilization will be quantified using spectrophotometer and HPLC. Bacterial genes involved in phosphate solubilization e.g. PQQ operon, gcd and phytase gene will be PCR-amplified for sequence analysis. Bacterial isolates (PSB) will also be explored for array of growth promoting attributes like siderophores, phytohormone production and zinc mobilization. The P-solubilizers will be further studied for their antimicrobial potential to control the rice pathogen causing Bacterial Leaf blight (BLB). Elicitation of Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR) by antagonistic P-solubilizers will be investigated to detect defense related enzymes in host plant. Diversity of microbial populations in the rhizosphere and aerial parts of rice plants will be studied by cultivation on growth media as well as through culture-independent DNA-based approaches using 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing. Plant inoculation studies will be conducted to evaluate the selected PSB strains for nutrient uptake, vegetative growth, yield increase and disease incidence under controlled and natural conditions. Root colonization of PSB will be studied using fluorescent markers in combination with confocal laser scanning microscope