Mechanism of boron tolerance in soil bacteria

Boron (B) is toxic to living cells at levels above a certain threshold. We isolated several B-tolerant bacterial strains from soil samples and studied them for possible mechanisms of B tolerance. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and comparative phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the isolates belong to the following 6 genera: Arthrobacter, Rhodococcus, Lysinibacillus, Algoriphagus, Gracilibacillus, and Bacillus. These isolates exhibited B-tolerance levels of 80, 100, 150, 300, 450, and 450 mmol/L, respectively, whilst maintaining a significantly lower intracellular B concentration than in the medium. Statistical analysis showed a negative correlation between the protoplasmic B concentration and the degree of tolerance to a high external B concentration. The kinetic assays suggest that the high B efflux and (or) exclusion are the tolerance mechanisms against a high external B concentration in the isolated bacteria.