Ibrahima Ndoye

Bio: Ibrahima Ndoye is an academic researcher from Cheikh Anta Diop University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Rhizobia & Acacia. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 61 publications receiving 862 citations.

Diversity of indigeneous bradyrhizobia associated with three cowpea cultivars (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) grown under limited and favorable water conditions in Senegal (West Africa)

Abstract: The diversity of Bradyrhizobium strains nodulating three cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) cultivars in favorable and water-limited conditions occuring at flowering was analysed. PCR- Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region (IGS) directly applied on 85 crushed nodules distinguished four genetic profiles, IGS types I, II, III and IV. The distribution of these IGS types according to water conditions and cowpea cultivars (B-21, TN 88-63 and Mouride) showed that nodulating strains appeared more diverse in water-limited condition. More than three quarters of prospected nodules presented the IGS type I. They were formed on all three cultivars and in both water conditions. Only a small part of nodules was distributed between the IGS type II, III and IV. Nodules showing the IGS types II and III were found mainly in limited conditions on TN 88-63 and Mouride cultivars, whereas nodules presenting the IGS type IV were collected only from cultivars B-21 and Mouride, in both water conditions. Strains corresponding to the different profiles were isolated. The phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that they belong to the genus, Bradyrhizobium. The sequence analysis of 16S-23S rDNA IGS revealed that the strains exhibiting IGS types II, III and IV were closely related to some Faidherbia albida isolates from Senegal. IGS type II can be assigned with at least 98% similarity to Bradyrhizobium genospecies IV. IGS types III and IV showed more than 96% similarity with genospecies VII and could belong to the same genospecies. IGS type I, the most frequent, exhibits low IGS similarity with reported sequences in the databases, and could represent a new genospecies. (African Journal of Biotechnology: 2003 2(1): 13-23)

Evaluation of commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculants

Abstract: Faye, A., Dalpe, Y., Ndung'u-Magiroi, K., Jefwa, J., Ndoye, I., Diouf, M. and Lesueur, D. 2013. Evaluation of commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculants. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 1201–1208. In order to improve the use of commercial inoculants, 12 arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculants were evaluated in a two-step experiment under greenhouse conditions using maize. First, commercial mycorrhizal inoculants were propagated in a trap pot culture experiment under sterilized sand to evaluate their potential for maize (Zea may L.) root colonization as compared with an indigenous soil inoculum and to survey the AMF species present in the products. Three inoculants significantly increased root colonization levels compared with a soil inoculum. Instead of 12 declared AMF species, 13 fungal strains were extracted from the pot culture survey, including five undeclared species, while four declared species did not produce spores. In a second experiment, commercial products were inoculated into soil to assess the...

Stem nodulation in legumes: diversity, mechanisms, and unusual characteristics

Abstract: Rhizobia can establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with plants of the Leguminosae family. They elicit on their host plant the formation of new organs, called nodules, which develop on the roots. A ...

Nitrogen fixation in Faidherbia albida, Acacia raddiana, Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal estimated using the 15N isotope dilution technique

Abstract: A pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse using the 15N isotope dilution method and two reference plants, Parkia biglobosa and Tamarindus indica to estimate nitrogen fixed in four Acacia species: A raddiana, A. senegal, A. seyal and Faidherbia albida (synonym Acacia albida). For the reference plants, the 15N enrichments in leaves, stems and roots were similar. With the fixing plants, leaves and stems had similar 15N enrichments; they were higher than the 15N enrichment of roots. The amounts of nitrogen fixed at 5 months after planting were similar using either reference plant. Estimates of the percentage of N derived from fixation (%Ndfa) for the above ground parts, in contrast to %Ndfa in roots, were similar to those for the whole plant. However, none of the individual plant parts estimated accurately total N fixed in the whole plant, and excluding the roots resulted in at least 30% underestimation of the amounts of N fixed. Between species, differences in N2 fixation were observed, both for %Ndfa and total N fixed. For %Ndfa, the best were A. seyal (average, 63%) and A. raddiana (average, 62%), being at least twice the %Ndfa in A. senegal and F. albida. Because of its very high N content, A. seyal was clearly the best in total N fixed, fixing 1.62 g N plant−1 compared to an average of 0.48 g N plant−1 for the other Acacia species. Our results show the wide variability existing between Acacia species in terms of both %Ndfa and total N fixed: A. seyal was classified as having a high N2 fixing potential (NFP) while the other Acacia species had a low NFP.

Complete genome sequence of the metabolically versatile photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris

Abstract: Rhodopseudomonas palustris is among the most metabolically versatile bacteria known. It uses light, inorganic compounds, or organic compounds, for energy. It acquires carbon from many types of green plant-derived compounds or by carbon dioxide fixation, and it fixes nitrogen. Here we describe the genome sequence of R. palustris, which consists of a 5,459,213-base-pair (bp) circular chromosome with 4,836 predicted genes and a plasmid of 8,427 bp. The sequence reveals genes that confer a remarkably large number of options within a given type of metabolism, including three nitrogenases, five benzene ring cleavage pathways and four light harvesting 2 systems. R. palustris encodes 63 signal transduction histidine kinases and 79 response regulator receiver domains. Almost 15% of the genome is devoted to transport. This genome sequence is a starting point to use R. palustris as a model to explore how organisms integrate metabolic modules in response to environmental perturbations.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi as Natural Biofertilizers: Let's Benefit from Past Successes

Abstract: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) constitute a group of root obligate biotrophs that exchange mutual benefits with about 80% of plants. They are considered natural biofertilizers, since they provide the host with water, nutrients and pathogen protection, in exchange for photosynthetic products. Thus, AMF are primary biotic soil components which, when missing or impoverished, can lead to a less efficient ecosystem functioning. The process of re-establishing the natural level of AMF richness can represent a valid alternative to conventional fertilization practices, with a view to sustainable agriculture. The main strategy that can be adopted to achieve this goal is the direct re-introduction of AMF propagules (inoculum) into a target soil. Originally, AMF were described to generally lack host- and niche-specificity, and therefore suggested as agriculturally suitable for a wide range of plants and environmental conditions. Unfortunately, the assumptions that have been made and the results that have been obtained so far are often worlds apart. The problem is that success is unpredictable since different plant species vary their response to the same AMF species mix. Many factors can affect the success of inoculation and AMF persistence in soil, including species compatibility with the target environment, the degree of spatial competition with other soil organisms in the target niche and the timing of inoculation. Thus, it is preferable to take these factors into account when “tuning” an inoculum to a target environment in order to avoid failure of the inoculation process. Genomics and transcriptomics have led to a giant step forward in the research field of AMF, with consequent major advances in the current knowledge on the processes involved in their interaction with the host-plant and other soil organisms. The history of AMF applications in controlled and open-field conditions is now long. A review of biofertilization experiments, based on the use of AMF, has here been proposed, focusing on a few important factors that could increase the odds or jeopardize the success of the inoculation process.

Methylotrophic Methylobacterium bacteria nodulate and fix nitrogen in symbiosis with legumes.

Abstract: Rhizobia described so far belong to three distinct phylogenetic branches within the alpha-2 subclass of Proteobacteria. Here we report the discovery of a fourth rhizobial branch involving bacteria of the Methylobacterium genus. Rhizobia isolated from Crotalaria legumes were assigned to a new species, "Methylobacterium nodulans," within the Methylobacterium genus on the basis of 16S ribosomal DNA analyses. We demonstrated that these rhizobia facultatively grow on methanol, which is a characteristic of Methylobacterium spp. but a unique feature among rhizobia. Genes encoding two key enzymes of methylotrophy and nodulation, the mxaF gene, encoding the alpha subunit of the methanol dehydrogenase, and the nodA gene, encoding an acyltransferase involved in Nod factor biosynthesis, were sequenced for the type strain, ORS2060. Plant tests and nodA amplification assays showed that "M. nodulans" is the only nodulating Methylobacterium sp. identified so far. Phylogenetic sequence analysis showed that "M. nodulans" NodA is closely related to Bradyrhizobium NodA, suggesting that this gene was acquired by horizontal gene transfer.