Isolation and characterization of endophytic bacteria from soybean (Glycine max) grown in soil treated with glyphosate herbicide

Endophytic bacteria are ubiquitous in most plant species influencing the host fitness by disease suppression, contaminant degradation, and plant growth promotion. This endophytic bacterial community may be affected by crop management such as the use of chemical compounds. For instance, application of glyphosate herbicide is common mainly due to the use of glyphosate-resistant transgenic plants. In this case, the bacterial equilibrium in plant-endophyte interaction could be shifted because some microbial groups are able to use glyphosate as a source of energy and nutrients, whereas this herbicide may be toxic to other groups. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study cultivable and noncultivable endophytic bacterial populations from soybean (Glycine max) plants cultivated in soil with and without glyphosate application (preplanting). The cultivable endophytic bacterial community recovered from soybean leaves, steins, and roots included Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, A. junii, Burkholderia sp., B. gladioli, Enterobacter sakazaki, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, P. straminea, Ralstonia pickettii, and Sphingoimonas sp. The DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) analysis from soybean roots revealed some groups not observed by isolation that were exclusive for plants cultivated in soil with pre-planting glyphosate application, such as Herbaspirillum sp., and other groups in plants that were cultivated in soil without glyphosate, such as Xanthomonas sp. and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Furthermore, only two bacterial species were recovered from soybean plants by glyphosate enrichment isolation. They were Pseudomonas oryzihabitans and Burkholderia gladioli which showed different sensibility profiles to the glyphosate. These results suggest that the application at pre-planting of the glyphosate herbicide may interfere with the endophytic bacterial community's equilibrium. This community is composed of different species with the capacity for plant growth promotion and biological control that may be affected. However, the evaluation of this treatment in plant production should be carried out by long-term experiments in field conditions.