Isolation and Identification of Azospirillium zeae from Acacia tortilis at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Study was conducted at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Isolate and Identify the Azospirillium zeae from Acacia tortilis. Useful bacteria associated with the plant roots have the potential to alleviate the burden of using costly and harmful agrochemicals in harsh environments. Finding of novel and appropriate bacteria for enhancing plant growth is among the main primary challenges involved in achieving the agronomic application of plant beneficial bacteria. A bacterium isolated from the rhizospheric soil of the legume Acacia tortilis was described based on several biochemical, morphological and molecular analyses. The bacterium H1P is motile, negative in biotin medium, no growth in 3% NaCl, negative D-Ribose, positive D- glucose. Identification of the isolate via 16s rDNA via the BLASTn revealed that the isolate is an Azospirillum species with a 96.9% similarity to Azospirillum zeae H1P. Phylogenetic analyses with MEGA6 software showed that the isolate shares an ancestor with Azospirillum zeae, eventually branching off into a separate taxon. Azospirillum zeae isolated from Acacia tortilis it is considered first report.