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Plant growth‐promoting endophytic bacteria augment growth and salinity tolerance in rice plants
Author(s) -
Khan M. A.,
Asaf S.,
Khan A. L.,
Adhikari A.,
Jan R.,
Ali S.,
Imran M.,
Kim K.M.,
Lee I.J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.871
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1438-8677
pISSN - 1435-8603
DOI - 10.1111/plb.13124
Subject(s) - biology , botany , siderophore , enterobacter , endophyte , salinity , bacteria , rhizosphere , auxin , horticulture , ecology , biochemistry , genetics , escherichia coli , gene
Salt stress negatively affects growth and development of plants. However, it is hypothesized that plant growth‐promoting endophytic bacteria can greatly alleviate the adverse effects of salinity and can promote growth and development of plants. In the present research, we aimed to isolate endophytic bacteria from halotolerant plants and evaluate their capacity for promoting crop plant growth. The bacterial endophytes were isolated from selected plants inhabiting sand dunes at Pohang beach, screened for plant growth‐promoting traits and applied to rice seedlings under salt stress (NaCl; 150 m m ). Out of 59 endophytic bacterial isolates, only six isolates, i.e. Curtobacterium oceanosedimentum SAK1, Curtobacterium luteum SAK2, Enterobacter ludwigii SAK5, Bacillus cereus SA1, Micrococcus yunnanensis SA2, Enterobacter tabaci SA3, resulted in a significant increase in the growth of Waito‐C rice. The cultural filtrates of bacterial endophytes were tested for phytohormones, including indole‐3‐acetic acid, gibberellins and organic acids. Inoculation of the selected strains considerably reduced the amount of endogenous ABA in rice plants under NaCl stress, however, they increased GSH and sugar content. Similarly, these strains augmented the expression of flavin monooxygenase ( OsYUCCA1 ) and auxin efflux carrier ( OsPIN1 ) genes under salt stress. In conclusion, the pragmatic application of the above selected bacterial strains alleviated the adverse effects of NaCl stress and enhanced rice growth attributes by producing various phytohormones.