Isolation and characterization of the most abundant rhizobacterial species associated with Vuralia turcica (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae)

Abstract

Vurali turcica is naturally grown in a limited area in Central Anatolia in Turkey and was categorized as a critically endangered plant in the Red Data Book of Turkish Plants. This study aimed to analyze whether the symbiotic and mutualistic relation between V. turcica rhizomes and present microflora in the habitat can be active on its distribution. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) colonize the rhizosphere and promote plant growth and physiology. In this paper, the diversity of PGPRs of rhizomes of V. turcica was analyzed. Rhizome samples were obtained from the natural habitats of V. turcica by the workers of Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanical Garden, and bacterial isolation was conducted on the collected samples. MIS analysis, 16S rRNA, and 16S-23S rRNA ITS region sequencing were implemented, and as a result, Bacillus megaterium was found to be one of the most abundant bacterial species of the rhizomes of V. turcica based on nucleotide homology. This study is the first report on the identification of rhizobacterial species in V. turcica.

Key words
MIS; Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanical Garden; 16S rRNA; 16S-23S rRNA ITS region; V. turcica