A Careful Examination of the Parameters Impacting the Study of Plant/Bacteria Interactions
Abstract
Our laboratory has been studying how different Caulobacter strains impact Arabidopsis plant growth. While reading papers published by other laboratories, I noticed inconsistencies in the methods used by different plant/bacteria interaction studies. For example, a variety of different variables have been used for defining a bacterium as Plant Growth Promoting (PGP). To establish a baseline, I conducted longitudinal studies that examined the impact of bacteria on all phases of a plant’s life. I found that individual Caulobacter wild type strains impact different aspects of plant growth. In addition, I continuously encountered problems with within and between pot variation in plant growth. Therefore, I undertook a series of experiments to create standard conditions that decrease the variability of the results. The net result of these efforts is a standardized protocol that will be used by our laboratory for future experiments. In addition, I identified additional genera of PGP bacteria that are present in the soil that we use to grow the Arabidopsis plants.