Plant Growth-promoting and Bio-control Activity of Micrococcus luteus Strain AKAD 3-5 Isolated from the Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) Rhizosphere

Background: Applications of bioinoculants for improving crop productivity may be an eco-friendly alternative to chemical fertilizers. Rhizosphere or soil-inhabiting beneficial microbes can enhance plant growth and productivity through direct and indirect mechanisms, i.e., phosphate solubilization, nutrient acquisition, phytohormone production, etc. Objective: This study is based on the hypothesis that diseases resistant plants can act as a source of potential microbes that can have good plant growth-promoting traits and bio-control potential. Methods: In this study, we have isolated the rhizobacterial strains (AKAD 2-1, AKAD 2-10, AKAD 3-5, AKAD 3-9) from the rhizosphere of a disease-resistant variety of soybean (JS-20-34) (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). These bacterial strains were further screened for various plant growth-promoting traits (phosphate solubilization, indole acetic acid (IAA), ammonia, biofilm, HCN, Exopolysaccharide (EPS), and enzyme production activity (catalase, cellulase, and chitinase)). Results: Among four, only bacterial strain AKAD 3-5 has shown plant-growth-promoting and biocontrol (98%) activity against Fusarium oxysporum. Morphological, biochemical, and molecular characterization (16S rRNA) revealed that this rhizobacterial isolate AKAD 3-5 closely resembles Micrococcus luteus (Gene bank accession: MH304279). Conclusion: Here, we conclude that this strain can be utilized to promote soybean growth under varied soil stress conditions.

Genomic Analysis of Endophytic Bacillus cereus T4S and Its Plant Growth-Promoting Traits

Insights into plant endophytic microbes and their exploration in agriculture have provided opportunities for sustainable plant health and food safety. Notable endophytic Bacillus species with plant growth-promoting traits have been documented; nevertheless, information on genome analysis of B. cereus associated with the sunflower in South Africa has not been studied. Therefore, we present whole-genome sequence of agriculturally important B. cereus strain T4S isolated from sunflower plants. The NextSeq Illumina sequencing yielded 7,255,762 bp sequence reads, 151 bp average read length, 5,945,881 bp genome size, 56 tRNA, 63 rRNA, and G + C content of 34.8%. The phylogeny analysis of strain T4S was similar to B. cereus NJ-W. Secondary metabolites, such as petrobactin, bacillibactin, bacitracin, molybdenum factor, zwittermicin, and fengycin underlining bacterial biocontrol efficacy against phytopathogens were found in the T4S genome. The predicted novel genes in the bacterial genome mediating the complex metabolic pathways can provide a genetic basis in understanding endosphere biology and their multiple functions thereof in crop improvement. Interestingly, seed and root inoculation with strain T4S contributed to sunflower yield under greenhouse experiments. Hence, the detection of notable genes specific for plant growth promotion as validated under in vitro screening, promisingly, suggests the relevance of strain T4S in agricultural biotechnology.

Early Growth Stage Root-Associated Endophytes Isolated From Ulex Europaeus L. (Fabaceae) Colonizing Rural Areas in South-Central Chile

Background and aimsUlex europaeus L. (Fabaceae), commonly known as gorse, is an invasive woody shrub that easily grows in several locations across the world. However, little is known about the interactions of this invasive species with soil microorganisms and how these microbes can promote reaching rapid grow-rates at early stages of development. We aim at characterizing the endophytic fungal and bacterial microbiota associated with roots of early growth stage U. europaeus colonizing native ecosystems in south-central Chile.MethodsRoot-associated microorganisms were isolated and identified using standard molecular techniques. Furthermore, plant growth-promoting traits were studied and biocontrol activity was assessed to characterize the early growth stage root-associated taxa. ResultsFour endophytic fungi belonging to Sordariomycetes and twelve bacteria assigned to Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were identified as the principal early growth stage root-endophytic taxa. Plant growth-promoting traits were detected in several isolates such as Fusarium acuminatum and Rhodococcus sp. Besides, some of the isolates such as Rhodococcus sp. and Purpureocillium lilacinum showed biocontrol potential against phytopathogenic fungi. ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that early growth stage root endophytic taxa associated with U. europaeus have beneficial plant growth-promoting traits that can contribute with the rapid growth-rates of the shrub. The interaction with a set of beneficial microorganisms is an additional mechanism to explain the ability of U. europaeus for colonizing in various ecosystems.

Survey of plant growth promoting and antagonistic traits in winter wheat grain endophytic bacteria

The aim of this work was to isolate endophytic bacteria from wheat grains and to evaluate their plant growth promoting traits (PGPT) as well as an inhibitory effect on P. syringae pv. atrofaciens (McCulloch) growth. Endophytic bacteria were isolated by a culture-dependent protocol from the grains of winter wheat variety of Ukrainian selection Podolyanka with high resistance to syringae. Totally 2.7±0.09 CFU/1 g of dry wheat grain were isolated, ten cultivable bacterial isolates were obtained. Spore-forming bacilli predominated in the wheat grain endophytic community. Gram-negative fermenting and non-fermenting rod-shaped bacteria and Gram-positive cocci were also present. Seven out of ten isolates possessed numerous plant growth promoting traits including phosphate solubilization, oligonitrotrophy, and indolic compound producing. Two isolates possessed antagoniscic activity against syringae in vitro along with plant growth promoting features. According to biochemical profiling and mass-spectrophotometric identification, these two isolates were assigned to Paenibacillus and Brevibacillus genera. These endophytic bacteria can be considered as promising objects for agrobiotechnology. However, more research is needed to confirm their biotechnological potential in planta experiments