Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons^™

Colonization Of Zea Mays By The Nitrogen Fixing Bacterium Gluconacetobacter Diazotrophicus, Nikita Eskin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

To achieve high yields, corn fields are supplemented with nitrogen fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers account for a significant portion of production costs, and are harmful to the environment. Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, an endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacterium supplies its natural host sugarcane with a significant amount of nitrogen. This study investigated the colonization of G. diazotrophicus in seven different corn genotypes consisting of sweet and grain corn via three different methods of inoculation: soil drench, root dip, and aseptic inoculation. Sucrose content of the corn genotypes and nitrogenase activity were also analysed. Colonization was confirmed by PCR analysis. G. diazotrophicus colonization was detected using …