Wickerhamiella lachancei f.a. sp. nov., a novel ascomycetous yeast species isolated from flowers of Lantana camara in India

Two isolates representing a novel species of the genus Wickerhamiella were obtained in India from nectar of flowers of Lantana camara, an ornamental exotic species native to Central and South America. Phylogenetic analyses of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and physiological characteristics, supported the recognition of the novel species, that we designate Wickerhamiella lachancei sp. nov (MycoBank no. MB851709), with MCC 9929T as the holotype and PYCC 10003T as the isotype. Considering pairwise sequence similarity, the type strain of the novel species differs from the type strain of the most closely related species, Wickerhamiella drosophilae CBS 8459T, by 16 nucleotide substitutions and two gaps (3.9 % sequence variation) in the D1/D2 region (560 bp compared) and 28 nucleotide substitutions and five gaps (7.22 % sequence variation) in the ITS region (444 bp compared).

An Endophytic Bacterial Consortium modulates multiple strategies to improve Arsenic Phytoremediation Efficacy in Solanum nigrum

Endophytic microbes isolated from plants growing in contaminated habitats possess specialized properties that help their host detoxify the contaminant/s. The possibility of using microbe-assisted phytoremediation for the clean-up of Arsenic (As) contaminated soils of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta of India, was explored using As-tolerant endophytic microbes from an As-tolerant plant Lantana camara collected from the contaminated site and an intermediate As-accumulator plant Solanum nigrum. Endophytes from L. camara established within S. nigrum as a surrogate host. The microbes most effectively improved plant growth besides increasing bioaccumulation and root-to-shoot transport of As when applied as a consortium. Better phosphate nutrition, photosynthetic performance, and elevated glutathione levels were observed in consortium-treated plants particularly under As-stress. The consortium maintained heightened ROS levels in the plant without any deleterious effect and concomitantly boosted distinct antioxidant defense mechanisms in the shoot and root of As-treated plants. Increased consortium-mediated As(V) to As(III) conversion appeared to be a crucial step in As-detoxification/translocation. Four aquaporins were differentially regulated by the endophytes and/or As. The most interesting finding was the strong upregulation of an MRP transporter in the root by the As + endophytes, which suggested a major alteration of As-detoxification/accumulation pattern upon endophyte treatment that improved As-phytoremediation.