An aerobic, methane-oxidizing bacterium (strain RS11D-Pr^T) was isolated from rice rhizosphere. Cells of strain RS11D-Pr^Twere Gram-stain-negative, motile rods with a single polar flagellum and contained an intracytoplasmic membrane system typical of type I methanotrophs. The strain utilized methane and methanol as sole carbon and energy sources. It could grow at 20–37 °C (optimum 31–33 °C), at pH 6.8–7.4 (range 5.5–9.0) and with 0–0.2 % (w/v) NaCl (there was no growth at above 0.5 % NaCl).pmoAandmmoXgenes were present. The ribulose monophosphate and/or ribulose bisphosphate pathways were used for carbon assimilation. Results of sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that strain RS11D-Pr^Tis related closely to the generaMethylococcus,Methylocaldum,MethyloparacoccusandMethylogaeain the familyMethylococcaceae. The similarity was low (94.6 %) between strain RS11D-Pr^Tand the most closely related type strain (Methyloparacoccus murrelliiR-49797^T). The DNA G+C content was 64.1 mol%. Results of phylogenetic analysis of thepmoAgene and chemotaxonomic data regarding the major cellular fatty acids (C_16 : 1ω7c, C_16 : 0and C_14 : 0) and the major respiratory quinone (MQ-8) also indicated the affiliation of strain RS11D-Pr^Tto theMethylococcus–Methylocaldum–Methyloparacoccus–Methylogaeaclade. On the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain RS11D-Pr^Tis considered to represent a novel genus and species within the familyMethylococcaceae, for which the nameMethylomagnum ishizawaigen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is RS11D-Pr^T( = JCM 18894^T = NBRC 109438^T = DSM 29768^T = KCTC 4681^T).

Fungi play an essential role in recovering the quality and fertility of soil. There is a limited understating of the complex response of fungal diversity to different organic materials in clay loam soil. Here, we report the response of soil fungi toward the short-term application of manure (M), sugarcane straw (S), and sugarcane straw plus manure (MS), including no organic material control (CK) at two different time points (50 and 100 days after application). Illumina sequencing was used to examine the fungal communities. Our results reveal a significant shift among the soil fungal community structure associated with each organic material application. After both time points, amendments—especially M and MS—decreased the fungal richness and stimulated the copiotrophic fungal group (Ascomycota) compared to the control soil (CK) and S-amended soil. On the contrary, as compared to the M and MS-amended soils, the CK and S-amended soils at both time points increased the fungal richness and stimulated the oligotrophic fungal groups. Organic material use, especially M and MS, showed variable results regarding pathogenic fungi enhancing the abundance of Lophodermium and Cercophora and decreasing Fusarium. Concerning the abundance of plant-beneficial fungi, Mortierella was reduced, and Podospora was increased by M and MS input. FUNGuild showed that the amendment of organic materials efficiently declined the abundance of endophytes and plant pathogens, but also enhanced the animal pathogens in terms of abundance with respect to CK at two time points. This study could be useful to provide a novel understanding of the management of soil-borne pathogens by organic amendments for the sustainable production of short-term crops.

The microbial decomposition of plant residue is a central part of the carbon cycle in soil ecosystems. Here, we explored the microeukaryotic communit

Understanding the community composition and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in an agricultural ecosystem is important for exploiting their potential in sustainable crop production. In this study, we described the genetic diversity and community structure of indigenous AMF in rain-fed rice cultivars across six different regions in Ghana. The morphological and molecular analyses revealed a total of 15 different AMF genera isolated from rice roots. Rhizophagus and Glomus were observed to be predominant in all regions except the Ashanti region, which was dominated by the genera Scutellospora and Acaulospora. A comparison of AMF diversity among the agroecological zones revealed that Guinea Savannah had the highest diversity. Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance (PERMANOVA) analysis indicated that the available phosphorus (AP) in the soil was the principal determining factor for shaping the AMF community structure (p < 0.05). We report, for the first time, AMF diversity and community structure in rice roots and how communities are affected by the chemical properties of soil from different locations in Ghana.