Table 2 Biodiversity of vermicompost bacteria and their beneficial traits

Pheretima sp.

Pseudomonas oxalaticus

Oxalate degradation

Khambata and Bhat, 1953

Unspecified

Rhizobium trifolii

Nitrogen fixation and growth of leguminous plants

Buckalew et al. 1982

Lumbricus rubellus

R. japonicum, P. putida

Plant growth promotion

Madsen and Alexander 1982

L. terrestris

Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Improved distribution of nodules on soybean roots

Rouelle, 1983

Aporrectodea trapezoids,

P. corrugata 2 14OR

Suppress Gaeumannomyces graminis var. Tritd in wheat

Doube et al. 1994

A. rosea

A. trapezoids,

R. meliloti L5-30R

Increased root nodulation and nitrogen fixation in legumes

Stephens et al. 1994b

Microscolex dubius

Eisenia foetida

Bacillus spp., B. megaterium,

Antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis DSM 2570, Staphylococcus aureus DSM 1104

Vaz-Moreira et al. 2008

B. pumilus, B. subtilis

L. terrestris

Fluorescent pseudomonads,

Suppress Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. asparagi and F. proliferatum in asparagus, Verticillium dahlia in eggplant and F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici Race 1 in tomato

Elmer, 2009

Filamentous actinomycetes

Eudrilus sp.

Free-living N₂ fixers,

Plant growth promotion by nitrification, phosphate solubilisation and plant disease suppression

Gopal et al. 2009

Azospirillum, Azotobacter,

Autotrophic Nitrosomonas,

Nitrobacter, Ammonifying

bacteria, Phosphate solubilizers,

Fluorescent pseudomonads

E. foetida

Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes,

Antifungal activity against Colletotrichum coccodes, R. solani, P. ultimum, P. capsici and F. moliniforme

Yasir et al. 2009a

Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria,

Firmicutes

Unspecified

Eiseniicola composti YC06271^T

Antagonistic activity against F. moniliforme

Yasir et al. 2009b