scholarly journals Harnessing the Rhizosphere of the Halophyte Grass Aeluropus littoralis for Halophilic Plant-Growth-Promoting Fungi and Evaluation of Their Biostimulant Activities

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 784
Author(s):  
Mohamed Tarroum ◽  
Walid Ben Romdhane ◽  
Ahmed Abdelrahim Mohamed Ali ◽  
Fahad Al-Qurainy ◽  
Abdullah Al-Doss ◽  
...  

Hydroponic systems have gained interest and are increasingly used in hot and dry desert areas. Numbers of benefits are offered by hydroponic systems such as the ability to save water, enhance nutrients use efficiency, easy environmental control, and prevention of soil-borne diseases. However, the high consumption of chemical fertilizers for nutrient solution and the sensitivity of closed hydroponic systems to salinity are issues that need solutions. Thus, the main goal of our research activities is to isolate plant growth promoting fungi in order to develop sustainable hydroponic systems. We are working on isolating and testing the possibility to incorporate the cell-free filtrate (CFF) of plant growth promoting fungi (PGPF) in the composition of the nutrient solution. In this work, we isolated six strains of PGPF from the rhizosphere of the halophyte grass Aeluropus littoralis. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences amplified by ITS1 and ITS4 primers identified the isolated fungi as: Byssochlamys spectabilis, Chaetomium globosum, Cephalotheca foveolata, Penicillium melinii, Alternaria tenuissima, and Nigrospora chinensis. The promoting of vigor in tobacco seedlings was used as criteria to evaluate the biostimulant activity of these fungi by adding either their mycelia (DE: direct effect) or their cell-free filtrates (CFF: indirect effect) to the plant-growth media. The best significant growth stimulation was obtained with plants treated by B. spectabilis. However, only the CFFs of Byssochlamys spectabilis (A5.1) and Penicillium melinii (A8) when added at a dilution factor of 1/50 to half-strength nutritive solution (0.5NS) resulted in significant improvement of all assessed growth parameters. Indeed, the A5.1CFF and A8CFF in 0.5NS induced a significant better increase in the biomass production when compared to NS or 0.5NS alone. All fungi produced indole acetic acid in the CFFs, which could be one of the key factors explaining their biostimulant activities. Furthermore, six genes involved in nitrogen-metabolism (NR1 and NRT1), auxin biosynthesis (Tryp1 and YUCCA6-like), and brassinosteroid biosynthesis (DET2 and DWF4) were shown to be induced in roots or leaves following treatment of plants with the all CFFs. This work opens up a prospect to study in deep the biostimulant activity of PGPFs and their applications to decrease the requirement of chemical fertilizers in the hydroponic growing systems.

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1788
Author(s):  
Alejandro Jiménez-Gómez ◽  
Zaki Saati-Santamaría ◽  
Martin Kostovcik ◽  
Raúl Rivas ◽  
Encarna Velázquez ◽  
...  

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important crop worldwide, due to its multiple uses, such as a human food, animal feed and a bioenergetic crop. Traditionally, its cultivation is based on the use of chemical fertilizers, known to lead to several negative effects on human health and the environment. Plant growth-promoting bacteria may be used to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, but efficient bacteria in controlled conditions frequently fail when applied to the fields. Bacterial endophytes, protected from the rhizospheric competitors and extreme environmental conditions, could overcome those problems and successfully promote the crops under field conditions. Here, we present a screening process among rapeseed bacterial endophytes to search for an efficient bacterial strain, which could be developed as an inoculant to biofertilize rapeseed crops. Based on in vitro, in planta, and in silico tests, we selected the strain Pseudomonas brassicacearum CDVBN10 as a promising candidate; this strain produces siderophores, solubilizes P, synthesizes cellulose and promotes plant height in 5 and 15 days-post-inoculation seedlings. The inoculation of strain CDVBN10 in a field trial with no addition of fertilizers showed significant improvements in pod numbers, pod dry weight and shoot dry weight. In addition, metagenome analysis of root endophytic bacterial communities of plants from this field trial indicated no alteration of the plant root bacterial microbiome; considering that the root microbiome plays an important role in plant fitness and development, we suggest this maintenance of the plant and its bacterial microbiome homeostasis as a positive result. Thus, Pseudomonas brassicacearum CDVBN10 seems to be a good biofertilizer to improve canola crops with no addition of chemical fertilizers; this the first study in which a plant growth-promoting (PGP) inoculant specifically designed for rapeseed crops significantly improves this crop’s yields in field conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pooja Ramadas ◽  
Dhruv Pathak ◽  
Prabhjeet Kaur

In today’s largely populated modern world, crop yield is becoming increasingly important. To increase crop yield, new modern technologies for farming are continuously being innovated. The aim of this study is the identification of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPBs) and their properties. In order to conduct the experiment, soil samples were collected from the community garden LEAF (Local Ecology and Agriculture Fremont). These samples were grown in Luria Bertani agar plates, and the two bacterial strains that grew from them were analyzed to determine the species of the bacteria. Using a DNA extraction kit, DNA was extracted from the bacteria and then amplified versions were sent to RF Biotech for DNA sequencing. The DNA sequences were then used to determine that the two bacterial species in question are Bacillus cereus and Morganella morganii. Afterwards, multiple assays were used to measure the efficiency of each bacterial species to absorb various substances that would be helpful for plant growth. The aim of this research is to better understand which bacterial strains are beneficial for plants, and which are harmful. Through having greater zones of inhibition, the bacterial species M. morganii proved to be more efficient in the siderophore and phosphate solubilization assays. In contrast, the bacterial species B. cereus proved to be more efficient in the cellulase and amylase production assays. These results will assist LEAF in enriching their soil in order to increase their crop yields by creating an increase in concentration of advantageous bacteria and decrease that of detrimental bacteria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-84
Author(s):  
Enish Pathak ◽  
Arjun Sanjyal ◽  
Chhatra Raj Regmi ◽  
Saroj Paudel ◽  
Anima Shrestha

The deleterious effects of intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture has led to the substantial research efforts on finding the alternatives to these agrochemicals. This study was aimed to isolate Bacillus species from soil of different regions of Nepal and screen for their ability to promote plant growth directly or indirectly by testing their ability to produce plant growth hormone indole acetic acid, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and protease as well as phosphate solubilization. Thirty nine Bacillus strains were isolated from 25 soil samples of different regions of Kathmandu and Chitwan districts of Nepal. These isolates were tested for plant growth promoting traits in vitro. Among the total isolates, about 48.7% were indole acetic acid producers, 38.4% of the isolates showed the ability to solubilize the phosphate, 71.8% were able to produce ammonia and all the isolates had the ability to produce hydrogen cyanide and protease. The isolated strains showed positive results to maximum PGPR traits and exhibited a potential to be used as alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides and could be used as low-cost bio-based technology to promote plant growth in the agricultural sector.


2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Saikia ◽  
S. P. Saikia ◽  
V. Jain ◽  
V. Jain ◽  
G. C. Srivastava ◽  
...  

Research over the last few years has shown that inoculation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Azorhizobium presents an alternative for (or supplement to) chemical fertilization, mainly due to the capability of the bacteria to produce plant growth- promoting hormones. The Azorhizobium caulinodans strain ORS 571 in combination with 2,4-D was able to colonize the root interior of an Indian maize cultivar. After transplanting to pots, it was noticed that nodulated and Azorhizobium -treated plants showed higher chlorophyll content in the leaf and enhanced nitrate reductase activity, leading to higher yield as compared to the control plants (non-nodulated). A plant growth-promoting effect was clearly visible in all inoculated plants examined. nodulated plants treated with Azorhizobium had higher physiological activities as compared to plants treated only with Azorhizobium . Azorhizobium therefore creates potentially better symbiosis in the form of para -nodules and promotes a higher level of nitrogen fixation, leading to better growth and plant development, with reduced requirements for chemical fertilizers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (19) ◽  
pp. 6700-6709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Isabel Stets ◽  
Sylvia Maria Campbell Alqueres ◽  
Emanuel Maltempi Souza ◽  
Fábio de Oliveira Pedrosa ◽  
Michael Schmid ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAzospirillumis a rhizobacterial genus containing plant growth-promoting species associated with different crops worldwide.Azospirillum brasilensestrains exhibit a growth-promoting effect by means of phytohormone production and possibly by N2fixation. However, one of the most important factors for achieving an increase in crop yield by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria is the survival of the inoculant in the rhizosphere, which is not always achieved. The objective of this study was to develop quantitative PCR protocols for the strain-specific quantification ofA. brasilenseFP2. A novel approach was applied to identify strain-specific DNA sequences based on a comparison of the genomic sequences within the same species. The draft genome sequences ofA. brasilenseFP2 and Sp245 were aligned, and FP2-specific regions were filtered and checked for other possible matches in public databases. Strain-specific regions were then selected to design and evaluate strain-specific primer pairs. The primer pairs AzoR2.1, AzoR2.2, AzoR5.1, AzoR5.2, and AzoR5.3 were specific for theA. brasilenseFP2 strain. These primer pairs were used to monitor quantitatively the population ofA. brasilensein wheat roots under sterile and nonsterile growth conditions. In addition, coinoculations with other plant growth-promoting bacteria in wheat were performed under nonsterile conditions. The results showed thatA. brasilenseFP2 inoculated into wheat roots is highly competitive and achieves high cell numbers (∼107CFU/g [fresh weight] of root) in the rhizosphere even under nonsterile conditions and when coinoculated with other rhizobacteria, maintaining the population at rather stable levels for at least up to 13 days after inoculation. The strategy used here can be applied to other organisms whose genome sequences are available.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1008
Author(s):  
Tomás Juan Álvaro Cervantes-Vázquez ◽  
Ana Alejandra Valenzuela-García ◽  
María Gabriela Cervantes-Vázquez ◽  
Tania Lizzeth Guzmán-Silos ◽  
Erika Lagunes Fortiz ◽  
...  

The tomato is a widely cultivated and consumed vegetable globally. Comarca Lagunera is an important tomato-exporting region of Mexico. Salinity is an abiotic factor that reduces productivity and increases production costs. To advance growing period, there is high demand for the sustainable production of seedlings. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are characterized by improving plant growth through different mechanisms and can be an option for reducing the misuse of chemical fertilizers. The importance of the application of strains, evaluating various inoculation methods (in seed, soil, foliar spraying, and root immersion), should be evaluated to propose biofertilization packages in a specific crop. Thus, the study aimed to determine the effect of PGPR (Bacillus paralicheniformis, Acinetobacter guillouiae, Aeromonas caviae, and Pseudomonas lini) vs. nutrient solution and distilled water in the seedlings stage of saladette-type tomato on morphophysiological variables, nitrate reductase (NR) enzyme activity, and plant minerals via tissue analysis under greenhouse conditions. The four PGPR were inoculated by different methods (inoculation in seed, sprinkling, and both) in saladette-type tomato seedlings under greenhouse conditions and evaluated in vivo 40 days after sowing for morphophysiological variables, such as seedling height; stem diameter; root displaced volume; fresh and dry weight matter of the leaves, stems, and roots; leaf area; and nitrate reductase enzyme activity. The effect of the inoculation of PGPR showed significant results for Pseudomonas lini vs. the control, with 40% higher values, on average, for plant height, stem diameter, displaced root volume, and fresh weight of root, leaf, and stem. The response of enzymatic and mineral content in seedlings was variable with nutrient solution and significant with distilled water. Studies related to the promotion of plants in the subsequent phenological stages of a tomato, considering the selected PGPR, should be considered in future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mujahid Rasool ◽  
Adnan Akhter ◽  
Gerhard Soja ◽  
Muhammad Saleem Haider

AbstractThe individual role of biochar, compost and PGPR has been widely studied in increasing the productivity of plants by inducing resistance against phyto-pathogens. However, the knowledge on combined effect of biochar and PGPR on plant health and management of foliar pathogens is still at juvenile stage. The effect of green waste biochar (GWB) and wood biochar (WB), together with compost (Comp) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR; Bacillus subtilis) was examined on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) physiology and Alternaria solani development both in vivo and in vitro. Tomato plants were raised in potting mixture modified with only compost (Comp) at application rate of 20% (v/v), and along with WB and GWB at application rate of 3 and 6% (v/v), each separately, in combination with or without B. subtilis. In comparison with WB amended soil substrate, percentage disease index was significantly reduced in GWB amended treatments (Comp + 6%GWB and Comp + 3%GWB; 48.21 and 35.6%, respectively). Whereas, in the presence of B. subtilis disease suppression was also maximum (up to 80%) in the substrate containing GWB. Tomato plant growth and physiological parameters were significantly higher in treatment containing GWB (6%) alone as well as in combination with PGPR. Alternaria solani mycelial growth inhibition was less than 50% in comp, WB and GWB amended growth media, whereas B. subtilis induced maximum inhibition (55.75%). Conclusively, the variable impact of WB, GWB and subsequently their concentrations in the soil substrate was evident on early blight development and plant physiology. To our knowledge, this is the first report implying biochar in synergism with PGPR to hinder the early blight development in tomatoes.


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