Despite numerous reports on plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), there are few of them explaining their mode of action. It is possible that some plants promote bacterial colonization in the rhizosphere to facilitate plant-bacterium interaction, as if there were a certain mutual specificity. The objective of this study was to verify if lettuce plants promote root colonization by fluorescent pseudomonads, in comparison with other plants and with Bacillus spp. Roots of lettuce and some other vegetables were sampled in different properties of small commercial producers in Campinas-SP, Brazil. Colony forming units (cfu) of fluorescent pseudomonads and Bacillus spp. were counted by serial dilution and plating. The numbers of fluorescent pseudomonads were significantly higher in lettuce rhizosphere than in other plants, unlike the numbers of Bacillus spp.
specificity; rhizobacteria; lettuce; PGPR
