Effect of Plant Species on the Kinetics of Conjugal Transfer in the Rhizosphere and Relation to Bacterial Metabolic Activity

Conjugal transfer of a derivative of the RP4 plasmid between Pseudomonas fluorescens AS12 and Serratia plymuthica RF7 was compared in the rhizosphere of pea, wheat, and barley and related to the metabolic activity of the bacteria. To obtain a reliable measure of transfer, which allowed comparison of results between experiments, mathematical mass-action models were used to determine plasmid intrinsic kinetic coefficients. The data showed that not only were the rhizospheres highly conducive of transfer, with rates up to six orders of magnitude higher than in bulk soil, but differences between rhizospheres were also observed. Highest intrinsic kinetic coefficients were found in the pea rhizosphere (1.1-4.1 x 10-11), followed by the barley rhizosphere (2.4-7.2 x 10-12) and the wheat rhizosphere (2.2-2.9 x 10-13). It was further shown that the metabolic activity of the cells in the rhizosphere of the three plants was not significantly different, and that activity and transfer were not correlated. Thus, the data demonstrated species specific rhizosphere effects on the conjugal transfer process that could not be attributed to different metabolic activities of the bacteria.