Seven phosphate solubilising bacteria, belonging to Enterobacteriaceae family, capable of utilizing Xylose and rock phosphate as the sole carbon and phosphate source were isolated by enrichment culture method. This PSB exhibited mineral phosphate solubilising (MPS) phenotype on xylose and glucose, which are substrates for enzyme glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), as carbon sources. The isolates secreted formic acid and xylonic acid by utilizing xylose. In all the isolates, GDH activity was found when grown on Glucose and Xylose, indicating that it is constitutive and could act on a wide range of aldose sugars. PFL enzyme activity in all xylose utilizing cells was higher, since PFL is a marker of anaerobic conditions thus all the isolates were facultative anaerobes. Efficiency of the isolates for phosphorus solubilization in natural environments was further confirmed by pot experiments on mung bean plants.

In this study, genotype independent in planta transformation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) variety G.Cot.10, using injection method and cut method has been reported. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain containing construct pBIN1F carrying the nptII and cry1F gene was used for plant transformation. The integration of the gene was confirmed by using PCR. The transformation experiment was performed by optimizing two important parameters: age of the seedlings and co-cultivation duration with Agrobacterium. When the effect of the age of the seedlings and co-cultivation duration evaluated three days old seedlings and co-cultivated for three days yielded higher survival percentage as well the frequency of transformation in both methods (injection method, i.e. 6% and cut method, i.e. 4%). Overall higher frequency of transformation was yielded in injection method i.e. 1.16% while in cut method overall frequency of transformation obtained was 0.83%.