An Improved Chemotaxis Assay for the Rapid Identification of Rhizobacterial Chemoattractants in Root Exudates

Chemotaxis identification is very important for the research and application of rhizosphere growth-promoting bacteria. We established a straightforward method to quickly identify the chemoattractants that could induce the chemotactic movement of rhizosphere growth-promoting bacteria on sterile glass slides via simple steps. Bacteria solution (OD600 = 0.5) and sterile chemoattractant aqueous solution were added dropwise on the glass slide at an interval of 1 cm. An inoculating loop was used to connect the chemoattractant aqueous solution to the bacterial solution. The slide was kept at room temperature for 20 min on the clean bench. Finally, the chemoattractant aqueous solution was collected for bacterial counting and microscopic observation. In this study, through multiple comparisons of experimental results, the method overcame multiple shortcomings of traditional bacterial chemotaxis methods. The method reduced the error of plate counting and shortened the experimental cycle. For the identification of chemoattractant substances, this new method can save 2-3 days compared to the traditional method. Additionally, this method allows any researcher to systematically complete a bacterial chemotaxis experiment within 1-2 days. The protocol can be considered a valuable resource for understanding plant-microbe interactions.