The gram-negative bacterium Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is increasingly recognized as an important cause of nosocomial infection. Infection occurs principally, but not exclusively, in debilitated and immunosuppressed individuals. Management of S. maltophilia-associated infection is problematic because many strains of the bacterium manifest resistance to multiple antibiotics. These difficulties are compounded by methodological problems in in vitro susceptibility testing for which there are, as yet, no formal guidelines. Despite its acknowledged importance as a nosocomial pathogen, little is known of the epidemiology of S. maltophilia, and although it is considered an environmental bacterium, its sources and reservoirs are often not readily apparent. Molecular typing systems may contribute to our knowledge of the epidemiology of S. maltophilia infection, thus allowing the development of strategies to interrupt the transmission of the bacterium in the hospital setting. Even less is known of pathogenic mechanisms and putative virulence factors involved in the natural history of S. maltophilia infection and this, coupled with difficulties in distinguishing colonization from true infection, has fostered the view that the bacterium is essentially nonpathogenic. This article aims to review the current taxonomic status of S. maltophilia, and it discusses the laboratory identification of the bacterium. The epidemiology of the organism is considered with particular reference to nosocomial outbreaks, several of which have been investigated by molecular typing techniques. Risk factors for acquisition of the bacterium are also reviewed, and the ever-expanding spectrum of clinical syndromes associated with S. maltophilia is surveyed. Antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, pitfalls in in vitro susceptibility testing, and therapy of S. maltophilia infections are also discussed.

Microbiological and Clinical Aspects of Infection Associated with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=agronomyfacpub

Nitrogen uptake, fixation and response to fertilizer N in soybeans: A review

Background
Inoculation of plants to enhance yield of crops and performance of other plants is a century old, proven technology for rhizobia and a newer venue for plant growth-promoting bacteria and other plant symbionts. The two main aspects dominating the success of inoculation are the effectiveness of the bacterial isolate and the proper application technology.

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Advances in plant growth-promoting bacterial inoculant technology: formulations and practical perspectives (1998–2013)

Inoculants of plant growth-promoting bacteria for use in agriculture

Inoculation of legume seed is an efficient and convenient way of introducing effective rhizobia to soil and subsequently the rhizosphere of legumes. However, its full potential is yet to be realised. Following widespread crop failures, the manufacture of high quality inoculants revolutionised legume technology in Australia in the 1960s. Many improvements to inoculants and the advent of an inoculant control service ensured that quality was optimised and maintained. Minimum standards for the number of rhizobia per seed were set after consideration of several factors including seed size and loss of viability during inoculation. Despite manufacturers' recommendations for storage and application of inoculants, there is a distinct lack of control over the inoculation process; hence the full potential of high quality products may not always be achieved. The efficacy of inoculation varies depending on several factors, all of which affect the number of viable rhizobia available for infection of legume roots. Increased numbers of viable rhizobia per seed by application of inoculant above the commercially recommended rate, results in a continued linear increase in nodulation and yield. Several studies have reported yield increases of up to 25%. However, applying higher quantities of inoculant is uneconomical and technically difficult. Alternatively, higher numbers of viable rhizobia per seed may be achieved by improving survival during seed inoculation. Despite recognition of the factors affecting survival of rhizobia on seed and a substantial demand for commercially pre-inoculated legume seed, poor survival is still a major concern. Desiccation, temperature and seed coat toxicity all influence survival of rhizobia on seed. Their adverse effects may be ameliorated by selecting tolerant rhizobial strains and legume seed cultivars with low toxicity or artificially, by the use of additives in the seed coating. The accumulation of the desiccant protectant trehalose in strains of rhizobia, may result in better survival under desiccation stress. Similarly, the accumulation of exopolysaccharide (EPS) may act as a barrier reducing excessive water loss. Polymeric adhesives such as gum arabic, methyl cellulose and polyvinyl pyrollidone (PVP) have improved survival. However, studies of additives used in inoculation have been ad hoc and little of their mode of action is understood. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the protection of rhizobia from adverse conditions will assist in defining the optimum conditions for seed inoculation and storage to ensure a higher quality product for farmers at the time of sowing.

Legume seed inoculation technology—a review

Inoculant quality and its evaluation

A survey of 40 commercial North American rhizobial inoculants was made to determine the number of contaminant cells relative to rhizobial cells. All of the inoculants were manufactured for sale during the 1993 season and were made using non-sterile peat as carrier. Products from three major North American manufacturing companies were examined. All of the inoculant samples were collected as part of the Canadian Legume Inoculant and Pre-Inoculated Seed Product Testing Program. Only one of the inoculants contained more rhizobia (Rhizobium or Bradyrhizobium spp) than contaminants. Three others contained 1–2 times more contaminants than rhizobia, 21 of the samples contained 2–10 times more contaminants than rhizobia, 8 contained 10–100 times more contaminants than rhizobia, and 3 contained more than 1000 times more contaminants than rhizobia. Four of the samples contained too few rhizobia to be detected in the standard most-probable-number (MPN) test used by the Canadian regulatory inoculant testing program. The most common contaminants were bacteria (109–1010 g−1), actinomycetes (108–109 g−1), and fungi (105–107 g−1). Contaminant bacteria capable of inhibiting growth of R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii or R. meliloti were isolated from inoculant products of all three manufacturers.

Biological contaminants in North American legume inoculants

The effect of inoculant formulation on the population dynamics of rhizobia in the pea rhizosphere was investigated using a streptomycin-resistant mutant of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viceae NITRAGIN128C56G (128C56G strR). The isolate was formulated into liquid, peat powder, and granular peat carriers, and was tested on pea at field sites near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Beaverlodge, Alberta, in 1996 and 1997. The liquid and peat powder formulations were applied to seed while the granular inoculant was applied to soil. In three out of four site years, population dynamics were similar among formulations: an initial decline or lag period lasting 25 days followed by an increase to approximately 105 colony-forming units (CFU)/seedling by 1428 days after planting (DAP) and, where sampled, a continuing increase from 107 to 108 CFU/plant at 63 DAP. In these same site years, nodule number (not determined at Beaverlodge in 1997) and nodule occupancy at 60 days were not significantly different among formulations...

Rhizobium population dynamics in the pea rhizosphere of rhizobial inoculant strain applied in different formulations.

Sixty samples of commercial North American legume inoculants manufactured for sale in 1994 using nonsterile peat as carrier were tested for Rhizobium (or Bradyrhizobium) content and nonRhizobium biological contaminant load. Products of three major producers of such inoculants for sale in Canada were examined. Viable Rhizobium content varied from 5.6 × 105 to 8.1 × 109 cells/g, while the contaminant load varied from 1.8 × 108 to 5.5 × 1010 cfu/g. Most of the inoculants contained more nonrhizobial organisms than they did rhizobia. Identifications were made of the most numerous nonrhizobial bacteria occurring in 100 samples of inoculants collected in 1993 and 1994. The most commonly identified contaminant was Xanthomonas maltophilia. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae were also found at high levels in some products. Contaminant organisms capable of inhibiting rhizobial growth in plate culture were found in the products of all three manufacturers.Key words: Rhizobium, cont...

Levels and identities of nonrhizobial microorganisms found in commercial legume inoculant made with nonsterile peat carrier

Laboratory, growth chamber and field experiments were conducted to select among 226 isolates of Rhizobium meliloti for the ability to grow, nodulate alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and support N2-dependent plant growth between 9° and 12°C. There was wide variation in the abilities of R. meliloti isolates to grow and form nodules at 10°C. Culture doubling times (td) varied from 1 to 155h, and the number of nodules formed on alfalfa in growth pouches in 2 weeks varied from 0 to 3.8 nodules per plant. Nodulation occurred at 9°C, but there was no significant N2-dependent plant growth at this temperature. However, several isolates of R. meliloti had the ability to nodulate alfalfa and produce N2-dependent growth at root temperatures between 10° and 12°C root temperature than did 14 other isolates tested. In field experiments, inoculation with strain NRG-34 resulted in greater nodule numbers, nodule weight, proportion of nodules occupied by the inoculant strain and plant weight than did inoculation with a commercial strain (NRG-185). These results permitted selection of a strain with better low-temperature competitive abilities than the currently available commercial strains.

Mandy M. Collins

Papers

Inoculant quality and its evaluation

Biological contaminants in North American legume inoculants

Rhizobium population dynamics in the pea rhizosphere of rhizobial inoculant strain applied in different formulations.

Levels and identities of nonrhizobial microorganisms found in commercial legume inoculant made with nonsterile peat carrier

Symbiotic effectiveness of Rhizobium meliloti at low root temperature