Agar-agar impregnated on porous activated carbon as a new adsorbent for Pb(II) removal.

This paper presents a new sorbent, agar-agar (AA), impregnated on porous activated carbon (AC) - and its Pb(II) sorption properties. The influence of impregnation ratio (AA/AC) on the Pb(II) ion sorption properties is studied in order to optimize this parameter. The developed AC-AA shows substantial capability to sorb Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions and 75% represents the optimal impregnation ratio.

Isolation and characterization of putative endophytic bacteria antagonistic to Phoma tracheiphila and Verticillium albo-atrum.

A collection of 200 bacterial isolates recovered from citrus plants (Citrus limon, Citrus sinensis, and Citrus reticulata), Medicago truncatula and Laurus nobilis, was established. In vitro screening indicated that 28 isolates exhibited an inhibitory activity against the vascular pathogens Phoma tracheiphila and Verticillium albo-atrum. Isolates were screened according to their hydrolytic activities, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) abilities, as well as for the presence of nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes responsible of the lipopeptide biosynthesis.

Rhizobium azibense sp. nov., a nitrogen fixing bacterium isolated from root-nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris.

Three microbial strains isolated from common beans, 23C2T (Tunisia), Gr42 (Spain) and IE4868 (Mexico), which have been identified previously as representing a genomic group closely related to Rhizobium gallicum, are further studied here. Their 16S rRNA genes showed 98.5-99% similarity with Rhizobium loessense CCBAU 7190BT, R.

Rhizobium laguerreae sp. nov. nodulates Vicia faba on several continents.

Several fast-growing strains nodulating Vicia faba in Peru, Spain and Tunisia formed a cluster related to Rhizobium leguminosarum. The 16S rRNA gene sequences were identical to that of R. leguminosarum USDA 2370(T), whereas rpoB, recA and atpD gene sequences were phylogenetically distant, with sequence similarities of less than 96 %, 97 % and 94 %, respectively.

Characterization of root-nodule bacteria isolated from Vicia faba and selection of plant growth promoting isolates.

A collection of 104 isolates from root-nodules of Vicia faba was submitted to 16S rRNA PCR-RFLP typing. A representative sample was further submitted to sequence analysis of 16S rRNA. Isolates were assigned to 12 genera.

Sinorhizobium americanum symbiovar mediterranense is a predominant symbiont that nodulates and fixes nitrogen with common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in a Northern Tunisian field.

A total of 40 symbiotic bacterial strains isolated from root nodules of common bean grown in a soil located in the north of Tunisia were characterized by PCR-RFLP of the 16S rRNA genes. Six different ribotypes were revealed. Nine representative isolates were submitted to phylogenetic analyses of rrs, recA, atpD, dnaK, nifH and nodA genes.

Diversity of nodule-endophytic agrobacteria-like strains associated with different grain legumes in Tunisia.

This study represents the first report describing the genetic diversity of nodule-endophytic agrobacteria isolated from diverse legumes and their phylogenetic relationships with the valid species of agrobacteria, as well as the non-recognized genomospecies of the former Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Rhizobium radiobacter). The genetic diversity of a collection of 18 non-nodulating agrobacteria-like strains, previously isolated from root nodules of Vicia faba, Cicer arietinum and Phaseolus vulgaris from different geographical regions of Tunisia, was studied by REP-PCR and PCR-RFLP of the 16S-23S rDNA IGS, as well as by sequence analysis of the 16S rDNA and the housekeeping genes recA and atpD. The aim of the work was to study the genetic diversity of the different isolates and to check for any host-specificity.

Symbiotic diversity of Ensifer meliloti strains recovered from various legume species in Tunisia.

Ensifer meliloti (formerly Sinorhizobium meliloti) was first considered as a specific microsymbiont of Medicago, Melilotus and Trigonella. However, strains of E. meliloti were recovered from root nodules of various legume species and their symbiotic status still remains unclear.