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. 2009 Jul;40(3):417-32.
doi: 10.1590/S1517-83822009000300001. Epub 2009 Sep 1.

Assessing the diversity of bacterial communities associated with plants

Fernando Dini Andreote  1 , João Lúcio Azevedo, Welington Luiz Araújo
Affiliations

Assessing the diversity of bacterial communities associated with plants

Fernando Dini Andreote et al. Braz J Microbiol. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

Plant-bacteria interactions result from reciprocal recognition between both species. These interactions are responsible for essential biological processes in plant development and health status. Here, we present a review of the methodologies applied to investigate shifts in bacterial communities associated with plants. A description of techniques is made from initial isolations to culture-independent approaches focusing on quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction in real time (qPCR), Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), clone library construction and analysis, the application of multivariate analyses to microbial ecology data and the upcoming high throughput methodologies such as microarrays and pyrosequencing. This review supplies information about the development of traditional methods and a general overview about the new insights into bacterial communities associated with plants.

Keywords: Plant–bacteria interactions; endophytes; molecular techniques; multivariate analysis; rhizosphere.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scheme showing the possibilities for application of molecular microbiology techniques to study bacterial communities associated with plants. In black the techniques presented and discussed in this review.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Steps for multivariate analysis using data from molecular microbiological methods. The sequence is the obtaining of the fingerprint (a), the conversion in matrices with qualitative or quantitative data and the combination with data for samples classification (b), the gradient analysis (c) and the application of the best fitted mathematical model (d).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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