Long-term storage effects of organic amendments as carrier materials on the viability of bacterial strains: Insights from growth analysis and metabolite profiling

Highlights

	● Mill mud is the most effective carrier for longterm rhizobacterial viability.
	● Metabolite profiling identified aminoacids and sugars in all treatments.
	● Plant growth metabolites were detected in all organic carrier materials.
	● Mesorhizobium sp. consistently utilized sugars across all carriers.
	● The study aids biofertilizer development to enhance soil health and crop productivity.

Abstract

This study examines the effects of different organic carrier materials, chicken manure, mill mud, and cow manure on the long-term viability and metabolite profiles of rhizobacterial strains Mesorhizobium sp. and Rhizobium sp. Over one year, growth curve analysis revealed significant differences in bacterial proliferation. Mill mud supported the most robust growth, with a doubling of 11 days, compared to chicken and cow manure, which exhibited growth saturation after five to eight months. Non-targeted ¹H-NMR metabolite profiling revealed distinct sugar and amino acid profiles across carriers. Mill mud exhibited a broader range of sugars, including sucrose, maltose, and mannose, while chicken and cow manure primarily contained monosaccharides like glucose, xylose, and mannitol. Amino acids such as lysine and glutamate were higher in chicken manure, followed by cow manure and mill mud. Plant growth-promoting metabolites were detected in all carriers, with Mesorhizobium sp. and Rhizobium sp. enhancing their production by up to 200% in mill mud and cow manure. Both bacterial strains utilized sugars from the carriers, with Mesorhizobium sp. showing more consistent sugar metabolism. These findings suggest that mill mud is an effective carrier for sustaining rhizobacterial viability and enhancing metabolite production, benefiting biofertilizer formulations and soil health.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

agro-byproducts / organic fertilizers / bacterial viability / plant growth promotion / agronomy development / soil health

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Author contributions

Abinandan Sudharsanam: Investigation, Methodology, Writing–original draft, Writing–review & editing. Anithadevi kenday Sivaram: Investigation, Methodology, Writing–review&editing. Chengrong Chen and Mallavarapu Megharaj: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Writing–review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Dr. Monica Rossignoli, School of Chemistry, The University of Newcastle for optimizing method for metabolite analysis using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. This project was jointly funded by Soil CRC (PIA3.4.001) and Griffith University. The work has been supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils whose activities are funded by the Australian Governmentʼs Cooperative Research Centre Program.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-024-0279-6 and is accessible for authorized users.

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