MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE VARIABILITY OF ENDOPHYTIC BACTERIA BACILLUS AMYLOLIQUEFACIENS DURING VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL TRANSPORT

Khachaturov E., Polivanov D., Utkin D., Shcherbakova N., Utkin E., Golubev D.

Microorganisms can interact with plants and insects, demonstrating a three-way mutualism between endophytes, plants and pollinating insects. In this study, the movement of an endophytic strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens bacteria as a result of horizontal and vertical transfer was studied. The objects of the study were strains of B. amyloliquefaciens isolated from oregano (Oríganum vulgáre L.), rhizosphere soil, honey bee (Ápis melliféra L.). The variability of the bacterial protein profile was assessed by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry. Genetic differences were determined by RAPD PCR. It was found that the strains of B. amyloliquefaciens isolated from seeds differ significantly in protein and genomic profile from strains isolated from plants and honey bees, due to the difference in the biochemical composition of the studied media.

Keywords:endophytes, horizontal transfer, vertical transfer, RAPD-PCR, MALDI ToF mass spectrometry, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, honey bee.