In vitro transfer of fixed nitrogen from diazotrophic filamentous cyanobacteria to black mangrove seedlings

Abstract

Two isolates of the diazotrophic filamentous cyanobacterium Microcoleus chthonoplastes, one obtained from black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) pneumatophores and one from cyanobacterial mats, were inoculated onto young mangrove seedlings to evaluate nitrogen transfer from the bacterium to the plants under in vitro conditions in closed system experiments. Total nitrogen and 15N incorporation in plant parts were measured. The levels of total N and 15N in the inoculated leaves were significantly higher than in noninoculated plants.