Volume 20, Issue 1 p. 62-74
Research article

Tropical soils are a reservoir for fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. biodiversity

Lucas Dantas Lopes

Lucas Dantas Lopes

Department of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

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Edward W. Davis II

Edward W. Davis II

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

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Michele de C. Pereira e Silva

Michele de C. Pereira e Silva

Department of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

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Alexandra J. Weisberg

Alexandra J. Weisberg

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

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Luana Bresciani

Luana Bresciani

Department of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

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Jeff H. Chang

Jeff H. Chang

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

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Joyce E. Loper

Joyce E. Loper

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

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Fernando D. Andreote

Corresponding Author

Fernando D. Andreote

Department of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

For correspondence. E-mail [email protected]; Tel. +55(19)34172123; Fax (19) 3417-2100/3417-2110.Search for more papers by this author
First published: 13 October 2017
Citations: 31

Summary

Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. are widely studied for their beneficial activities to plants. To explore the genetic diversity of Pseudomonas spp. in tropical regions, we collected 76 isolates from a Brazilian soil. Genomes were sequenced and compared to known strains, mostly collected from temperate regions. Phylogenetic analyses classified the isolates in the P. fluorescens (57) and P. putida (19) groups. Among the isolates in the P. fluorescens group, most (37) were classified in the P. koreensis subgroup and two in the P. jessenii subgroup. The remaining 18 isolates fell into two phylogenetic subclades distinct from currently recognized P. fluorescens subgroups, and probably represent new subgroups. Consistent with their phylogenetic distance from described subgroups, the genome sequences of strains in these subclades are asyntenous to the genome sequences of members of their neighbour subgroups. The tropical isolates have several functional genes also present in known fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. strains. However, members of the new subclades share exclusive genes not detected in other subgroups, pointing to the potential for novel functions. Additionally, we identified 12 potential new species among the 76 isolates from the tropical soil. The unexplored diversity found in the tropical soil is possibly related to biogeographical patterns.