Rhizospheric soil of Typha angustifolia L. from heavy metal contaminated and free sites: Comparative profiling reveals selective abundance of γ-proteobacteria and β-proteobacteria

Abstract

<em>Typha angustifolia </em>L. commonly called Lesser bulrush or Narrowleaf cattail, is one of the most predominant flora of the heavy metal enriched wetland of Jaduguda Uranium mine tailings, India. The luxurious growth of this plant is due to its ability to tolerate heavy metals, such as iron and manganese.This plant also grows abundantly in natural wetlands of Kolkata. Rhizospheric eubacterial community of <em>Typha</em> growing in Jaduguda and Kolkata were compared by cloning of 16SrDNA sequences followed by ARDRA (Amplified rDNA Restriction Analysis) and sequencing of unique clusters. Sequencing results were subjected to computational analysis. In the natural wetland of Kolkata, the predominant group of eubacteria was found to be &beta;-proteobacteria, which isabsent in heavy metal enriched wetland of Jaduguda where &gamma;-proteobacteria was found to be predominant. The data was statistically validated using a simple &chi;²test which established the diversity of the populations in context to the bioavailability of heavy metals.