Abstract
The lignite biodegradation procedure to produce water-soluble humic materials (WSHM) with a Penicillium stain was established by previous studies in our laboratory. This study researched the effects of WSHM on the growth of Bradyrhizobium liaoningense CCBAU05525 and its nodulation on soybean. Results showed that WSHM enhanced the cell density of CCBAU05525 in culture, and increased the nodule number, nodule fresh weight and nitrogenase activity of the inoculated soybean plants. Then the chemical compounds of WSHM were analyzed and flavonoid analogues were identified in WSHM through tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH)-py-GC/MS analysis. Protein expression profiles and nod gene expression of CCBAU05525 in response to WSHM or genistein were compared to illustrate the working mechanism of WSHM. The differently expressed proteins in response to WSHM were involved in nitrogen and carbon metabolism, nucleic acid metabolism, signaling, energy production and some transmembrane transports. WSHM was found more effective than genistein in inducing the nod gene expression. These results demonstrated that WSHM stimulated cell metabolism and nutrient transport, which resulted in increased cell density of CCBAU05525 and prepared the bacteria for better bacteroid development. Furthermore, WSHM had similar but superior functions to flavone in inducing nod gene and nitrogen fixation related proteins expression in CCBAU05525.