Use of Endophytic and Rhizosphere Bacteria To Improve Phytoremediation of Arsenic-Contaminated Industrial Soils by Autochthonous Betula celtiberica
Authors: Mesa Victoria , Navazas Alejandro , González-Gil Ricardo , González Aida , Weyens Nele , Lauga Béatrice , Gallego Jose Luis R. , Sánchez Jesús , Peláez Ana Isabel 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of indigenous arsenic-tolerant bacteria to enhance arsenic phytoremediation by the autochthonous pseudometallophyte
Betula celtiberica
. The first goal was to perform an initial analysis of the entire rhizosphere and endophytic bacterial communities of the above-named accumulator plant, including the cultivable bacterial species.
B. celtiberica
's microbiome was dominated by taxa related to
Flavobacteriales
,
Burkholderiales
, and
Pseudomonadales
, especially the
Pseudomonas
and
Flavobacterium
genera. A total of 54 cultivable rhizobacteria and 41 root endophytes, mainly affiliated with the phyla
Proteobacteria
,
Bacteroidetes
,
Firmicutes
, and
Actinobacteria
, were isolated and characterized with respect to several potentially useful features for metal plant accumulation, such as the ability to promote plant growth, metal chelation, and/or mitigation of heavy-metal stress. Seven bacterial isolates were further selected and tested for
in vitro
accumulation of arsenic in plants; four of them were finally assayed in field-scale bioaugmentation experiments. The exposure to arsenic
in vitro
caused an increase in the total nonprotein thiol compound content in roots, suggesting a detoxification mechanism through phytochelatin complexation. In the contaminated field, the siderophore and indole-3-acetic acid producers of the endophytic bacterial consortium enhanced arsenic accumulation in the leaves and roots of
Betula celtiberica
, whereas the rhizosphere isolate
Ensifer adhaerens
strain 91R mainly promoted plant growth. Field experimentation showed that additional factors, such as soil arsenic content and pH, influenced arsenic uptake in the plant, attesting to the relevance of field conditions in the success of phytoextraction strategies.

IMPORTANCE
Microorganisms and plants have developed several ways of dealing with arsenic, allowing them to resist and metabolize this metalloid. These properties form the basis of phytoremediation treatments and the understanding that the interactions of plants with soil bacteria are crucial for the optimization of arsenic uptake. To address this in our work, we initially performed a microbiome analysis of the autochthonous
Betula celtiberica
plants growing in arsenic-contaminated soils, including endosphere and rhizosphere bacterial communities. We then proceeded to isolate and characterize the cultivable bacteria that were potentially better suited to enhance phytoextraction efficiency. Eventually, we went to the field application stage. Our results corroborated the idea that recovery of pseudometallophyte-associated bacteria adapted to a large historically contaminated site and their use in bioaugmentation technologies are affordable experimental approaches and potentially very useful for implementing effective phytoremediation strategies with plants and their indigenous bacteria.