Interaction of beggiatoa and rice plant: detoxification of hydrogen sulfide in the rice rhizosphere.

Beggiatoa was obtained from six habitats, including four water-saturated soils from rice fields. The isolate of Beggiatoa from Bernard clay, when reinoculated into soil treatments from pure culture, significantly reduced hydrogen sulfide levels in soils and increased oxygen release from rice plants. Rice plants significantly increased Beggiatoa survival in flooded soils. Some hydrogen sulfide was necessary for survival of the Bernard clay isolate; high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide killed the Bernard clay isolate but were tolerated by a Crowley silt loam isolate from Eagle Lake, Texas. The results suggest that Beggiatoa may be an element of wetlands plant ecosystems.