Actinomycetes in the rhizosphere of semidesert soils of Mongolia

The population density of actinomycetes in the desert-steppe soil, rhizosphere, and the above-ground parts of plants varies from tens to hundreds of thousands of colony-forming units (CFU) per gram of substrate. The actinomycetal complexes of the brown desert-steppe soil without plant roots are more diverse in their taxonomic composition than the actinomycetal complexes in the rhizosphere and the aboveground parts of plants. Additionally to representatives of the Streptomyces and Micromonospora genera, actinomycetes from the Nocardia, Saccharopolyspora, Thermomonospora, and Actinomadura genera were identified in the soil. The population density of actinomycetes in the rhizosphere and in the soil reached hundreds of thousand CFU/g; it considerably exceeded the population density of actinomycetes in the aboveground parts of plants. The maximum population density of actinomycetes was determined in the rhizosphere of Asparagus gobicus, Salsola pestifera, and Cleistogenes songorica.