The Guiana Shield is a sub-region of Amazonia, one of the richest areas on earth in terms of species number. It is also one of the most pristine areas and is still largely unexplored. Species number, distribution, boundaries and their evolutionary histories remain at least unclear but most of the time largely unknown. This is the case for most Anurans, a group which is recognized as threatened globally and is disappearing even from pristine tropical forests. Given the pace of forest destruction and the growing concerns about climate change it is urgently necessary to obtain a better estimate of regional biodiversity in Amazonian frogs as well as a better understanding of the origin and distribution of Anuran diversity. Furthermore, given their sensitivity to climatic conditions, amphibians are a good model to investigate the influence of paleoclimatic events on Neotropical diversification which was supposedly the driving force on biotic evolution during Pleistocene in the Guiana Shield. I first test species boundaries in two species Scinax ruber and Rhinella margaritifera. These species are widely distributed, abundant and largely recognized as species complexes. I used an original species delineation method based on the combined use of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA in phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated the polyphyly of Scinax ruber and Rhinella margaritifera. These species consist of multiple lineages that may all merit species status. Conflicting signals of mitochondrial and nuclear markers indicated the possibility of ongoing hybridization processes. Phylogeographic analyses added further information in support of the specific status of these lineages. Our results highlight the utility of combining phylogenetic and phylogeographic methods, as well as the use of both mitochondrial and nuclear markers within one study. This approach helped to better understand the evolutionary history of taxonomically complex groups of species. The assessment of the geographic distribution of genetic diversity in tropical amphibian communities can lead to conclusions that differ strongly from prior analyses based on the occurrence of currently recognized species alone. Such studies, therefore, hold the potential to contribute to a more objective assessment of amphibian conservation priorities in tropical areas. Subsequently, I tested if these first results on cryptic species are generalisable, questioning what would potentially be a minimum estimate of the number of cryptic frog species in Amazonia and the Guiana Shield, using mtDNA with multiple complementary approaches. I also combined isolation by distance, phylogenetic analyses, and comparison of molecular distances to evaluate threshold values for the identification of candidate species among these frogs. In most cases, geographically distant populations belong to genetically highly distinct lineages that could be considered as candidate new species. This was not universal among the taxa studied and thus widespread species of Neotropical frogs really do exist, contra to previous assumptions. Moreover, the many instances of paraphyly and the wide overlap between distributions of inter- and intra-specific distances reinforce the hypothesis that many cryptic species remain to be described. In our data set, pairwise genetic distances below 0.02 are strongly correlated with geographical distances. This correlation remains statistically significant until genetic distance is 0.05, with no such relation thereafter. This suggests that for higher genetic distances allopatric and sympatric cryptic species prevail. Based on our analyses, we propose a more inclusive pairwise genetic distance of 0.03 between taxa to target lineages that could correspond to candidate species. Using this approach, we identify 129 candidate species, two-fold greater than the 60 species included in the current study. This leads to estimates of around 170 to 460 frog taxa unrecognized in Amazonia-Guianas. As a consequence the global amphibian decline detected especially in the Neotropics may be worse than realised. The Rhinella margaritifera complex is characterisized by the presence of many cryptic species throughout its wide distribution, ranging from Panama to Bolivia and almost entire Amazonia. French Guiana has long been thought to harbor two species of this group, though molecular data analysed in previous chapters indicated as many as five lineages. I tested whether morphological measurements are correlated or not with genetic data using discriminant analysis and if diagnostic characteristics among the previously determined lineages can be used to describe these new species. This is a novel integrative method which can lead to a facilitation of the description of cryptic species that have been detected by phylogenetic and/or phylogeographic studies. These analyses, combined with published data of other Rhinella species, indicated that two of these lineages represent previously unnamed species. Two of the remaining are allocable to R. margaritifera while the status of the fifth is still unclear because so far it is morphologically indistinguishable from R. castaneotica. Determining if codistributed species responded to climate change in an independent or concerted manner is a basic objective of comparative phylogeography. Species boundaries, histories, ecologies and their geographical ranges are still to be explored in the Guiana Shield. According to the refugia hypothesis this region was supposed to host a forest refugium during climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene but the causes and timing for this have been criticized. We investigated patterns of genetic structure within 18 frog species in the eastern Guiana Shield to explore species boundaries and their evolutionary history. We used mtDNA and nuclear DNA and complementary methods to compare the genetic diversity spatially and temporally. With one exception all the species studied diversified repeatedly within the eastern Guiana Shield during the last 4 million years. Instead of one Pleistocene forest refugium the Guiana Shield has probably hosted multiple refugia during late Pliocene and Pleistocene. Most of these Pleistocene refugia were probably situated on the coast of French Guiana, Amapà, Suriname and Guyana. This diversification likely resulted from forest fragmentation. Many species deserve taxonomic revisions and their ranges to be reconsidered. The local endemism of the Anuran fauna of the Guiana Shield is likely to be much higher and some areas consequently deserve more conservation efforts. Specifically I questioned whether major intraspecific diversification started before the Pleistocene and occurred within the Guiana Shield or ex situ. According to ecological characteristics of the species involved I will test different diversification hypotheses. The consequences on the diversity and the endemism of the Guiana Shield will be explored. My results demonstrate that we have been grossly underestimating local biological diversity in the Guiana Shield but also in Amazonia in general. The order of magnitude for potential species richness means that the eastern Guiana Shield hosts one of the richest frog fauna on earth. In most of the species studied high levels of mtDNA differentiation between populations call for a reassessment of the taxonomic status of what is being recognised as single species. Most species display deep divergence between eastern Guiana Shield populations and Amazonian ones. This emphasizes that the local endemism in the Guiana Shield of these zones is higher than previously recognized and must be prioritised elements taken into account in conservation planning. Nevertheless, a few other species appear widely distributed showing that widespread species do exist. This underlines the fact that some species have efficient dispersal abilities and that the frog fauna of the eastern Guiana Shield is a mixture of old Guianan endemic lineages that diversified in situ mostly during late Pliocene and Pleistocene and more recently exchanged lineages with the rest of Amazonia. Recognizing this strong historical component is necessary and timely for local conservation as these zones are likely to be irremediably modified in the near future.

Green algae are quite important primary producers in fresh waters. The genus Chlorella represents one of algae most frequently utilized in algal biotechnologies to produce biomass, using either autotrophic or heterotrophic cultivation systems. It is than exploited as a food supplement for humans or animals. However, particular species within the genus are morphologically indistinguishable and molecular markers should be used to characterize production strains. This work is aimed to molecularly characterize three production strains of Chlorella for patent protection purposes and to specify their phylogenetic and taxonomic position.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:51:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1207373 bytes, checksum: f279fd080120df1d02002fe650c0e5bf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-22 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The complexity and limited knowledge of the epiphytic and endophytic microbiota in coffee cherries, especially the unculturable ones, make it a challenging task the characterization of this microbiodiversity and its possible role as producers of precursors to compounds inherent to higher quality coffees. The present study was conducted to evaluate the diversity of endophytic bacteria in coffee cherries (Coffea arabica L.) from plantations located in North Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Fragments of 16S rDNA were PCR-amplified using specific primers for the phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria classes α, β and γ, using as template metagenomic DNA extracted from coffee cherries. Amplicons were evaluated by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting and also used to create a library of 16S rDNA clones. PCR-DGGE showed a variable genetic diversity profile in the DNA sample and revealed at least 38 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU). PCR products sequenced showed that the endophytic bacterial community is composed, in addition to others, by representatives phylogenetically affiliated to the phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, classes β and γ, for both cultivated and uncultivated microorganisms. The presence of endophytic bacteria belonging to Burkholderia and Klebsiela oxytoca is suggested based on the phylogenetic analyses of sequenced DNA fragments purified from the bands of the xviDGGE gels. A total of 50 clones of endophytic γ-Proteobacteria and 25 clones of endophytic Firmicutes from the 16S rDNA library were partially sequenced and identified. The result of sequence analyses showed three genera of Firmicutes among which 60% showed high identity with Bacillus, 8% with Staphylococcus, and 4% with Paenibacillus. Rarefaction and coverage analyses showed that the number of clones screened from the bacterial clone library was sufficient to reflect the diversity of endophytic Firmicutes in coffee cherries and that the number of unique sequence types sampled from this library approached the total number of unique sequences within the library. The populations of endophytic bacteria in coffee cherries are diverse and cover different phyla. In this study, for the first time, a library of 16S rDNA clones was constructed to access the diversity of endophytic bacteria in coffee cherries, both of culturable and unculturable microorganisms. The functional role of these bacteria in coffee cherries, as well as the genetic and functional diversity of other groups of microorganisms, is under investigation. The knowledge on this diversity is essential to determine the role of endophytic microorganisms in the production and interchange of precursors metabolites associated with the highest quality of the coffee beverage. Additionally, these studies will help the understanding of the physiological and genetic principles involved in the complex host-microorganism and microorganism-microorganism interactions. / A complexidade da microbiota epifítica e endofítica presente em frutos de café e o limitado conhecimento dos microrganismos, especialmente dos nãocultiváveis, dificultam a caracterização da microbiodiversidade e da possível atividade e contribuição dela para a formação de precursores de compostos que definem a qualidade superior da bebida do café. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a diversidade bacteriana endofítica associada aos frutos de café (Coffea arabica L.) coletados em fazenda localizada na Zona da Mata Norte de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Fragmentos de rDNAs 16S foram diretamente amplificados por Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase (PCR) a partir de primers específicos para os filos Actinobacteria, Firmicutes e Proteobacteria pertencentes às classes α, β e γ, utilizando, como molde, DNA metagenômico extraído de frutos de café. Os amplicons foram submetidos à Eletroforese em Gel com Gradiente Desnaturante (DGGE) e utilizados para construção de bibliotecas de clones de rDNAs 16S. A PCR-DGGE mostrou variado perfil de diversidade genética na amostra de DNA, com a presença de pelo menos 38 Unidades Taxonômicas Operacionais (UTOs). Os produtos de PCR purificados e seqüenciados mostraram que a comunidade de bactérias endofíticas é composta, entre outros, por representantes relacionados filogeneticamente aos filos Firmicutes e Proteobacteria pertencentes às classes β e γ, dentre os quais se destacam microrganismos cultiváveis e não-cultiváveis. A presença de bactérias endofíticas pertencentes ao gênero Burkholderia e à espécie Klebsiela oxytoca é sugerida com base nas análises filogenéticas realizadas a partir do seqüenciamento de DNA obtido de bandas purificadas do gel de DGGE. Um total de 50 clones positivos da biblioteca de rDNAs 16S de γ-Proteobacteria endofíticas e 25 clones positivos da biblioteca de rDNAs 16S de Firmicutes endofíticos foram parcialmente seqüenciados e identificados. O resultado da análise das seqüências mostrou 3 gêneros de Firmicutes na biblioteca de rDNAs 16S, sendo que 60% mostraram alta identidade com Bacillus, 8% com Staphylococcus e 4% com Paenibacillus. Análises de rarefação e de cobertura mostraram que a biblioteca foi representativa e suficiente para refletir a diversidade de Firmicutes endofíticos de frutos de café e que a seqüência única detectada na amostra aproxima-se do número total de seqüências únicas dentro desta biblioteca. As populações de bactérias endofíticas presentes em frutos de café são diversas e compreendem diferentes filos. Neste estudo foi construída, pela primeira vez, uma biblioteca de clones de rDNAs 16S para acessar a diversidade de bactérias endofíticas, cultiváveis e não-cultiváveis, em frutos de café. O papel funcional dessas bactérias nos frutos de café, assim como a diversidade genética e funcional de outros grupos de microrganismos, continua sendo investigado. O conhecimento dessa diversidade é de fundamental importância para se determinar a participação destes microrganismos na produção e interconversão de metabólitos precursores daqueles que estão associados à qualidade superior da bebida do café. Adicionalmente, esses estudos podem auxiliar no entendimento dos princípios fisiológicos e genéticos envolvidos nas complexas interações microrganismo-hospedeiro e microrganismo-microrganismo.

The Fairy shrimp Branchinecta gaini Daday, 1910 is the largest freshwater invertebrate in Antarctica and the top-level consumer of local freshwater food webs. Ecological demands of B. gaini that are accompanied by 'ruderal' life strategy together with its spatial distribution that exceeds to Patagonia indicate that it had survived last glacial period in South America and expanded to Antarctica shortly after this epoch endeed. On James Ross Island that is the most extreme environment where B. gaini occurs today was this fairy shrimp considered extinct until year 2008. Its disappearance was based on paleolimnological analysis of several lake sediment cores according to which it inhabited this island between years 4200 to approximately 1500 before present when it died out because of changes in lake catchments caused by harsh neoglacial conditions. Paleolimnological analysis of Monolith Lake presented in this study has shown that this assumption was wrong and B. gaini has lived on James Ross Island throughout neoglacial period up to recent time. Phylogeographic analysis of 16S rDNA of specimens from Patagonia, South Orkneys, South Shetlands and James Ross Island revealed that its high morphological diversity is not supported by this gene and that all examined populations of B. gaini is one species with very few...

The amount of data obtained by barcoding of prokaryotic 16S rDNA from natural habitats is increasing exponentially. Thus, methods enabling us to extract useful information from these data are of increasing importance. In this thesis microbial communities from water, sludge and drilling dust were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing in three geologically well described sedimentary aquifers in Bohemian Massif. The main goal of this research was to establish how different analytical approaches can be useful in interpretation of groundwater biogeochemical processes. Three approaches were used: First, taxonomy and metabolic traits of the most abundant microorganisms were assessed. Second, ordination methods showing metabolic and taxonomic variability between communities were used. Last the analysis of phylogenetic dissimilarity using UniFrac metrics was performed. When analyzing individual localities separately, the shift in microbial community composition corresponds with the change of environmental conditions. The unconstrained ordination method based on the variability in metabolic traits indicated, that sludge samples are more informative than water samples when asking which electron donor is used in microbial communities. On the other hand, unconstrained ordination methods were useless when the...

Chlorbenzole sind aufgrund ihrer weiten Verbreitung in Industrie und Landwirtschaft und ihrer geringen chemischen Reaktivität sowie guten Fettlöslichkeit ubiquitäre Umweltkontaminanten, die sich in der Nahrungskette anreichern. Eine natürliche, mikrobielle Dechlorierung dieser Verbindungen ist von besonderem Interesse, da die Toxizität chlorierter Benzole mit der Anzahl der Chlorsubstituenten steigt. Im Gegensatz zu Mono- und Dichlorbenzol, die durch aerobe Laborreinkulturen dechlorierbar sind, werden höher chlorierte Benzole bevorzugt unter anaeroben Bedingungen in Mischkulturen mit unbekannter Spezieszusammensetzung dechloriert. Bioreaktoren, in denen solche undefinierten Mischkulturen kontinuierlich kultiviert werden, sind eine vielversprechende Technik bei der Behandlung Chlorbenzol-kontaminierter Abwässer. Aufgrund der unbekannten Zusammensetzung der Population muß die mikrobielle Aktivität jedoch als "black box" betrachtet werden, was eine direkte Steuerung und Optimierung solcher Bioreaktoren erschwert. Zur Bestimmung der mikrobiellen Diversität einer in ihrer Zusammensetzung unbekannten, Trichlorbenzol(TCB)-dechlorierenden Bioreaktorkultur wurde aufgrund der bekannten Limitierungen kulturabhängiger Methoden die kulturunabhängige, vergleichende Sequenzanalyse direkt amplifizierter und klonierter 16S-rDNA gewählt. Die durch eine neuentwickelte Hybridisierungsmethode wesentlich vereinfachte Analyse der 16S-rDNA-Genbibliotheken erlaubte eine phylogenetische Klassifizierung der in der TCB-dechlorierenden Mischkultur abundanten Mikroorganismen (Bakterien und Archaea) und zeigte das Auftreten von 51 bakteriellen 16S-rDNA-Klonfamilien, mit einem weiten phylogenetischen Spektrum und teilweise enge Verwandtschaften zu anaerob dechlorierenden Dehalobacter spp. oder zu unkultivierten Bakterien eines vergleichbaren Biotops. Dieser Diversität stand eine dominierende Methanosaeta-ähnliche Klonfamilie innerhalb der Archaea gegenüber. Die aus der phylogenetischen Klassifizierung abgeleiteten metabolischen Eigenschaften einiger Bakterien und Archaea der TCB-dechlorierenden Mischkultur konnten durch gezielte Anreicherung und in-vitro Kultivierung bzw. die kulturunabhängige Sequenzanalyse funktioneller Gene bestätigt werden. Die dargestellten Ergebnisse lassen eine spezifische Zusammensetzung der TCB-dechlorierenden Mischkultur vermuten und geben Hinweise auf Indikatororganismen, die ein Monitoring und eine damit verbundene Effizienzsteigerung der anaeroben TCB-Dechlorierung im Bioreaktor ermöglichen könnten. / Due to their widespread application in industry and agriculture and their chemical stability chlorobenzenes (CB) are ubiquitous pollutants in soil, sediments, and aquifers. Since toxicity of CBs increases with the number of chlorine substituents, microbial dechlorination of CBs is of major interest. In contrast to di- and monochlorobenzenes (DCB and MCB) higher chlorinated benzenes are more resistant to aerobic dechlorination. However, for these compounds reductive dechlorination by different anaerobic microbial communities is well known. Bioreactors inoculated with complex dechlorinating anaerobic microbiota seem to be promising technologies for bioremediation of CB-contaminated aquifers. Several studies showed the efficiency of such bioreactors in treating chloroaromatic contaminated wastewaters. However, due to the unknown species diversity microbial activity had to be treated as a "black box" and direct optimization was hampered. To determine the microbial diversity of an anaerobic consortium in a fluidized bed reactor used for dechlorination of trichlorobenzene (TCB) I employed comparative sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes after direct PCR-amplification and cloning from community DNA since culture-based methods have shown to be strongly biased. The application of a new hybridization based screening approach for bacterial 16S rDNA clone libraries drastically simplified the analysis and allowed the phylogenetic classification of the abundant bacteria and archaea. A total of 51 bacterial 16S rDNA clone families were found, which showed a wide distribution among the main bacterial phyla. Several bacterial 16S rDNA clone families were closely related to anaerobic, dechlorinating Dehalobacter spp. and to yet-uncultured bacteria of a similar habitat. In contrast to the high bacterial diversity archaeal 16S rDNA clone libraries were clearly dominated by a Methanosaeta concilii-like clone family. Some yet-uncultured bacteria and archaea of the TCB-dechlorinating consortium were sufficiently closely related to studied organsims that reasonable physiological hypotheses could be formulated. These hypotheses were confirmed by either cultivation of the respective organism or by culture-independent sequence analysis of specific functional genes. The results suggest a specific community structure of the TCB-dechlorinating consortium and give evidence for indiator organisms. Moleculargenetic monitoring of these indicator organisms might allow the optimization of the continous TCB-dechlorination in the fluidized bed reactor.

Depuis l’apparition de la vie sur terre, les pressions de sélection liées aux interactions biotiques et abiotiques ont généré une forte diversité des formes de vie. Ainsi, chaque espèce eucaryote coévolue avec sa communauté microbienne associée. Dans le cas des plantes, la diversité génétique se traduit au niveau de multiples traits phénotypiques (exsudation de substrats carbonés, architecture racinaire, densité et aération du sol, acidification, etc.) susceptibles d’influer sur les interactions avec les populations microbiennes du sol, et donc sur la composition et le fonctionnement de la communauté microbienne rhizosphérique. Notre hypothèse est que les différences entre communautés bactériennes rhizosphériques sont proportionnelles aux distances évolutives entre partenaires végétaux. L’objectif de cette thèse était donc de déterminer l’importance, dans le cas des Poacées et notamment du maïs, de l’histoire évolutive de la plante dans la capacité de sélection des communautés bactériennes de la rhizosphère. Les analyses faites à l’aide d’une puce à ADN taxonomique 16S indiquent que la composition de la communauté rhizobactérienne dépend du groupe génétique de maïs mais n’est pas liée aux marqueurs microsatellites de diversité du maïs. Par contre, à l’échelle des Poacées, une corrélation a été trouvée entre la phylogénie végétale et la composition de la communauté bactérienne (voire la prévalence de taxons bactériens particuliers). Cette corrélation n’était pas significative quand l’étude était limitée à l’effectif, le niveau de transcription de nifH ou la diversité du groupe fonctionnel des bactéries fixatrices d’azote. En conclusion, l’histoire évolutive du partenaire végétal à l’échelle des Poacées (mais pas à celle du maïs) est un facteur conditionnant les interactions avec les groupes bactériens taxonomiques (mais pas nécessairement fonctionnels) de la rhizosphère / Since the emergence of life on earth, the selection pressures related to biotic and abiotic interactions generated a high diversity of life forms. Thus, each eukaryotic species co-evolved with its associated microbial community. In the case of plants, genetic diversity is reflected in many phenotypic traits (exudation of carbon substrates, root architecture, soil density, aeration, acidification, etc.), and may influence interactions with soil microbial populations and hence the composition and functioning of the rhizosphere microbial community. Our hypothesis is that the differences between rhizosphere bacterial communities are proportional to evolutionary distances between plants partners. The objective of this thesis was to determine the importance, in the case of Poaceae and in particular of maize, of the evolutionary history of plant in the selection of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere. Analyses performed using a 16S taxonomic microarray indicated that the composition of the rhizobacterial community depends on the genetic group of maize but is not linked to microsatellite diversity of maize. Conversely, across the Poaceae, a correlation was found between plant phylogeny and the composition of the bacterial community (and the prevalence of specific bacterial taxa). This correlation was not significant when the study was limited to the size, the level of transcription or nifH diversity of the functional group of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. In conclusion, the evolutionary history of the plant partner across the Poaceae (but not maize) is a factor conditioning interactions with bacterial taxonomic groups (but not necessarily functional groups) in the rhizosphere

A indústria sucroenérgetica gera grande quantidade de resíduos, sendo a torta de filtro e as cinzas os principais resíduos sólidos. Uma das tecnologias desenvolvidas para o manejo destes resíduos é a compostagem. A aplicação do composto tem mostrado efeitos positivos na cultura da cana-de-açúcar no que diz respeito à fertilização fosfatada. Os objetivos do presente trabalho foram: I. Observar o comportamento das comunidades bacterianas durante a compostagem e o efeito da inoculação de estirpes bacterianas mobilizadoras de fósforo sobre a disponibilidade de fósforo no composto final; II. Avaliar o efeito da aplicação de diferentes fontes de P e de bactérias mobilizadoras de fósforo no desenvolvimento de plantas de cana-de-açúcar e o efeito sobre as comunidades bacterianas do solo. Nesse sentido, pilhas de compostagem foram instaladas na Usina São José da Estiva em Novo Horizonte, SP. Os tratamentos consistiram de pilhas com e sem rocha fosfática; e pilhas com e sem a inoculação das estirpes Pseudomonas aeruginosa PSBR12 e Bacillus sp. BACBR1. Amostragens foram realizadas quinzenalmente durante 60 dias. Adicionalmente determinou-se a atividade enzimática, e parâmetros químicos do composto. A comunidade bacteriana foi acessada por meio da técnica independente de cultivo T-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) e sequenciado por meio da plataforma de nova geração MiSeqTM System (Illumina). Com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito do composto e da inoculação de bactérias mobilizadoras de P no desenvolvimento da cana-de-açúcar foi instalado um experimento em casa de vegetação com plantas de cana de açúcar, utilizando-se composto, rocha fosfática e super fosfato triplo como fontes de P, além da inoculação dos seguintes: Inoculante 1: Pseudomonas sp. PSBR10, Azotobacter sp. AZTBR19, Rhizobium sp. RIZBR01; e o Inoculante 2: Bacillus simplex BACBR04, Bacillus sp. BACBR06, Rhizobium sp. RIZBR01. O experimento foi conduzido durante 75 dias. Ao fim do experimento foram analisados os seguintes parâmetros: biomassa seca, acúmulo de P, N, e K na parte aérea, e fosfatases no solo. A estrutura das comunidades bacterianas no solo foram avaliadas por meio do sequenciamento na plataforma Illumina. A aplicação de bactérias mobilizadoras de P durante a compostagem diminuiu o P ligado ao Ca. A mudança nas comunidades bacterianas durante a compostagem foi temporal, no início dominaram membros da ordem Lactobacillales, após 15 dias as ordens Bacillales e Clostridiales passaram a dominar o processo. As comunidades bacterianas são influenciadas principalmente pelos parâmetros pH, temperatura e umidade. Quanto ao experimento em casa de vegetação, o uso dos inoculantes (principalmente o inoculante 2) aumentou o acúmulo de P, N e K na parte aérea nos tratamentos que receberam composto e super fosfato triplo como fonte de P. A aplicação dos inoculantes e a adição do composto modificou a estrutura das comunidades bacterianas do solo; essa alteração quando os inoculantes são aplicados pode estar relacionada com o incremento no acúmulo de nutrientes. O uso de bactérias mobilizadoras de P é uma tecnologia potencial para o uso na agricultura, tanto na compostagem de resíduos da indústria sucroenergética com rocha fosfática, como no aumento da eficiência da fertilização fosfatada na cana-de-açúcar. / Sugarcane industry generates large amounts of waste, filter cake and ashes being the main solid wastes. One of the technologies developed for the management of this waste is composting. The application of compost has shown positive effects on the sugarcane culture with regard to phosphorus fertilization. The objectives of this study are: I. To study the diversity of bacterial communities during composting and the effect of inoculation of phosphorus mobilizing bacterial strains on the phosphorus availability in the final compost; II. To evaluate and compare the effects of the application of different sources of phosphorus and P mobilizing bacteria on the development of sugarcane and the effect on soil bacterial communities. Therefore, compost piles were installed at Usina São José da Estiva in Novo Horizonte, Brazil. Treatments consisted of piles with and without rock phosphate and with and without inoculation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PSBR12 and Bacillus sp. BACBR1 strains. Samples were taken every two weeks for 60 days. In addition, the enzymatic and chemical composition of the compost was determined. The bacterial community was assessed through T-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and was sequenced through the new generation platform MiSeqTM System (Illumina). The abundance of bacteria was evaluated by qPCR. In order to evaluate the effect of compost and of inoculating P mobilizing bacteria on sugarcane development, a greenhouse experiment was installed with sugarcane using compost, rock phosphate and triple superphosphate as P sources, besides inoculations, as follows: Inoculant 1: Pseudomonas sp. (PSBR10) Azotobacter sp. (AZTBR19), Rhizobium sp. (RIZBR01); and Inoculant 2: Bacillus simplex (BACBR04), Bacillus sp. (BACBR06), Rhizobium sp. (RIZBR01). The experiment was conducted during 75 days. At the end of the experiment the following parameters were analyzed: dry plant biomass, accumulation of P, N, and K in the shoot, and phosphatases in soil. Bacterial soil communities were sequenced through the new generation Illumina. The application of P mobilizing bacteria during composting decreased the Ca-linked P. Changes of the bacterial communities during composting were temporal. In the beginning, members of the order Lactobacillales were dominant and after 15 days a succession of bacterial communities occurred, when Bacillales and Clostridiales began to dominate. Bacterial communities are mostly influenced by the parameters pH, temperature and humidity. Moreover, in the greenhouse experiment, the use of inoculants (mainly inoculant 2) increased the accumulation of P, N and K in shoots in the treatments that received compost and triple superphosphate as P source. Inoculant application and compost addition modified soil bacterial community structures. Changes in the soil microbiome when inoculant was applied may be related to the increase in nutrients accumulation. The use of P mobilizing bacteria is a potential technology for use in agriculture, when composting waste from the sugarcane industry with rock phosphate or when increasing P fertilization efficiency in sugarcane in the field.

A indústria sucroenérgetica gera grande quantidade de resíduos, sendo a torta de filtro e as cinzas os principais resíduos sólidos. Uma das tecnologias desenvolvidas para o manejo destes resíduos é a compostagem. A aplicação do composto tem mostrado efeitos positivos na cultura da cana-de-açúcar no que diz respeito à fertilização fosfatada. Os objetivos do presente trabalho foram: I. Observar o comportamento das comunidades bacterianas durante a compostagem e o efeito da inoculação de estirpes bacterianas mobilizadoras de fósforo sobre a disponibilidade de fósforo no composto final; II. Avaliar o efeito da aplicação de diferentes fontes de P e de bactérias mobilizadoras de fósforo no desenvolvimento de plantas de cana-de-açúcar e o efeito sobre as comunidades bacterianas do solo. Nesse sentido, pilhas de compostagem foram instaladas na Usina São José da Estiva em Novo Horizonte, SP. Os tratamentos consistiram de pilhas com e sem rocha fosfática; e pilhas com e sem a inoculação das estirpes Pseudomonas aeruginosa PSBR12 e Bacillus sp. BACBR1. Amostragens foram realizadas quinzenalmente durante 60 dias. Adicionalmente determinou-se a atividade enzimática, e parâmetros químicos do composto. A comunidade bacteriana foi acessada por meio da técnica independente de cultivo T-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) e sequenciado por meio da plataforma de nova geração MiSeqTM System (Illumina). Com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito do composto e da inoculação de bactérias mobilizadoras de P no desenvolvimento da cana-de-açúcar foi instalado um experimento em casa de vegetação com plantas de cana de açúcar, utilizando-se composto, rocha fosfática e super fosfato triplo como fontes de P, além da inoculação dos seguintes: Inoculante 1: Pseudomonas sp. PSBR10, Azotobacter sp. AZTBR19, Rhizobium sp. RIZBR01; e o Inoculante 2: Bacillus simplex BACBR04, Bacillus sp. BACBR06, Rhizobium sp. RIZBR01. O experimento foi conduzido durante 75 dias. Ao fim do experimento foram analisados os seguintes parâmetros: biomassa seca, acúmulo de P, N, e K na parte aérea, e fosfatases no solo. A estrutura das comunidades bacterianas no solo foram avaliadas por meio do sequenciamento na plataforma Illumina. A aplicação de bactérias mobilizadoras de P durante a compostagem diminuiu o P ligado ao Ca. A mudança nas comunidades bacterianas durante a compostagem foi temporal, no início dominaram membros da ordem Lactobacillales, após 15 dias as ordens Bacillales e Clostridiales passaram a dominar o processo. As comunidades bacterianas são influenciadas principalmente pelos parâmetros pH, temperatura e umidade. Quanto ao experimento em casa de vegetação, o uso dos inoculantes (principalmente o inoculante 2) aumentou o acúmulo de P, N e K na parte aérea nos tratamentos que receberam composto e super fosfato triplo como fonte de P. A aplicação dos inoculantes e a adição do composto modificou a estrutura das comunidades bacterianas do solo; essa alteração quando os inoculantes são aplicados pode estar relacionada com o incremento no acúmulo de nutrientes. O uso de bactérias mobilizadoras de P é uma tecnologia potencial para o uso na agricultura, tanto na compostagem de resíduos da indústria sucroenergética com rocha fosfática, como no aumento da eficiência da fertilização fosfatada na cana-de-açúcar. / Sugarcane industry generates large amounts of waste, filter cake and ashes being the main solid wastes. One of the technologies developed for the management of this waste is composting. The application of compost has shown positive effects on the sugarcane culture with regard to phosphorus fertilization. The objectives of this study are: I. To study the diversity of bacterial communities during composting and the effect of inoculation of phosphorus mobilizing bacterial strains on the phosphorus availability in the final compost; II. To evaluate and compare the effects of the application of different sources of phosphorus and P mobilizing bacteria on the development of sugarcane and the effect on soil bacterial communities. Therefore, compost piles were installed at Usina São José da Estiva in Novo Horizonte, Brazil. Treatments consisted of piles with and without rock phosphate and with and without inoculation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PSBR12 and Bacillus sp. BACBR1 strains. Samples were taken every two weeks for 60 days. In addition, the enzymatic and chemical composition of the compost was determined. The bacterial community was assessed through T-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and was sequenced through the new generation platform MiSeqTM System (Illumina). The abundance of bacteria was evaluated by qPCR. In order to evaluate the effect of compost and of inoculating P mobilizing bacteria on sugarcane development, a greenhouse experiment was installed with sugarcane using compost, rock phosphate and triple superphosphate as P sources, besides inoculations, as follows: Inoculant 1: Pseudomonas sp. (PSBR10) Azotobacter sp. (AZTBR19), Rhizobium sp. (RIZBR01); and Inoculant 2: Bacillus simplex (BACBR04), Bacillus sp. (BACBR06), Rhizobium sp. (RIZBR01). The experiment was conducted during 75 days. At the end of the experiment the following parameters were analyzed: dry plant biomass, accumulation of P, N, and K in the shoot, and phosphatases in soil. Bacterial soil communities were sequenced through the new generation Illumina. The application of P mobilizing bacteria during composting decreased the Ca-linked P. Changes of the bacterial communities during composting were temporal. In the beginning, members of the order Lactobacillales were dominant and after 15 days a succession of bacterial communities occurred, when Bacillales and Clostridiales began to dominate. Bacterial communities are mostly influenced by the parameters pH, temperature and humidity. Moreover, in the greenhouse experiment, the use of inoculants (mainly inoculant 2) increased the accumulation of P, N and K in shoots in the treatments that received compost and triple superphosphate as P source. Inoculant application and compost addition modified soil bacterial community structures. Changes in the soil microbiome when inoculant was applied may be related to the increase in nutrients accumulation. The use of P mobilizing bacteria is a potential technology for use in agriculture, when composting waste from the sugarcane industry with rock phosphate or when increasing P fertilization efficiency in sugarcane in the field.

The overall objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that insects can vector F. tumidum conidia to infect gorse plants with the aim of developing an alternative approach to mycoherbicide delivery to control weeds. Four potential insect species (Apion ulicis, Cydia ulicetana, Epiphyas postvittana and Sericothrips staphylinus) were assessed for their ability to vector F. tumidum conidia. To achieve this, the external microflora (bacteria and fungi) and the size and location of fungal spores on the cuticle of these insect species were determined. In addition, the ability of the insects to pick up and deposit F. tumidum conidia on agar was studied. Based on the results from these experiments, E. postvittana was selected for more detailed experiments to determine transmission of F. tumidum to infect potted gorse plants. The factors promoting pathogenicity of F. tumidum against gorse and the pathogen loading required to infect and kill the weed were also determined. The external microflora of the four insect species were recovered by washing and plating techniques and identified by morphology and polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequencing of internally transcribed spacer (ITS) and 16S rDNA. A culture-independent technique (direct PCR) was also used to assess fungal diversity by direct amplification of ITS sequences from the washings of the insects. All insect species carried Alternaria, Cladosporium, Nectria, Penicillium, Phoma, Pseudozyma spp. and entomopathogens. Ninety four per cent of the 178 cloned amplicons had ITS sequences similarity to Nectria mauritiicola. E. postvittana carried the largest fungal spores (mean surface area of 125.9 µm²) and the most fungal CFU/insect. About 70% of the fungi isolated from the insects were also present on the host plant (gorse) and the understorey grass. The mean size of fungal spores recovered from the insect species correlated strongly with their body length (R² = 85%). Methylobacterium aquaticum and Pseudomonas lutea were common on all four insect species. Pseudomonas fluorescens was the most abundant bacterial species. In the pathogenicity trials, the effectiveness of F. tumidum in reducing root and shoot biomass of 16 and 8 wk old gorse plants was significantly increased with wounding of the plants. Older plants (32 wk old) which were wounded and inoculated were significantly shorter, more infected and developed more tip dieback (80%) than plants which were not wounded (32%). This indicates that damage caused by phytophagous insect species present on gorse through feeding and oviposition may enhance infection by F. tumidum. Wounding may release nutrients (e.g. Mg and Zn) essential for conidia germination and germ tube elongation and also provide easier access for germ tube penetration. Conidial germination and germ tube length were increased by 50 and 877%, respectively when incubated in 0.2% of gorse extract solution for 24 h compared with incubation in water. Inoculum suspensions amended with 0.2% of gorse extract caused more infection and significantly reduced biomass production of 24 wk old gorse plants than suspensions without gorse extract. A minimum number of about 900 viable conidia/infection site of F. tumidum were required to infect gorse leaves. However, incorporation of amendments (which can injure the leaf cuticle) or provision of nutrients (i.e. gorse extract or glucose) in the formulation might decrease the number of conidia required for lesion formation. Scanning electron micrographs showed that germ tube penetration of gorse tissue was limited to open stomata which partly explain the large number of conidia required for infection. The flowers and leaves were more susceptible to F. tumidum infection than the spines, stems and pods. An experiment to determine the number of infection sites required to cause plant mortality showed that the entire plant needs to be inoculated in order for the pathogen to kill 10 wk old plants as F. tumidum is a non systemic pathogen. The number of infection sites correlated strongly with disease severity (R² = 99.3%). At least 50% of the plant was required to be inoculated to cause a significant reduction in shoot dry weight. F. tumidum, applied as soil inoculant using inoculated wheat grains in three separate experiments, significantly suppressed gorse seedling emergence and biomass production. In experiments to determine the loading capacity of the insect species, E. postvittana, the largest insect species studied, carried significantly more (68) and deposited significantly more (29) F. tumidum conidia than the other species. Each E. postvittana, loaded with 5,000 conidia of F. tumidum, transmitted approximately 310 conidia onto gorse plants but this did not cause any infection or affect plant growth as determined by shoot fresh weight and shoot height. E. postvittana on its own did not cause any significant damage to gorse and did not enhance F. tumidum infection. It also failed to spread the pathogen from infected plants to the healthy ones. There was no evidence of synergism between the two agents and damage caused by the combination of both E. postvittana and F. tumidum was equivalent to that caused by F. tumidum alone. This study has shown that E. postvittana has the greatest capacity to vector F. tumidum since it naturally carried the largest and the most fungal spores (429 CFU/insect). Moreover, it naturally carried Fusarium spp. such as F. lateritium, F. tricinctum and Gibberella pulicaris (anamorph Fusarium sambucinum) and was capable of carrying and depositing most F. tumidum conidia on agar. Coupled with the availability of pheromone for attracting the male insects, E. postvittana may be a suitable insect vector for delivering F. tumidum conidia on gorse using this novel biocontrol strategy. Although it is a polyphagous insect, and may visit non-target plants, F. tumidum is a very specific pathogen of gorse, broom and a few closely related plant species. Hence, using this insect species to vector F. tumidum in a biological control programme, should not pose a significant threat to plants of economic importance. However, successful control of gorse using this "lure-load-infect" concept would depend, to a large extent on the virulence of the pathogen as insects, due to the large size of F. tumidum macroconidia, can carry only a small number of it.