Huan Luo, Chaw Su Win, Dong Hoon Lee, Lin He, Jun Myoung Yu

Biology (Basel); 2024 Apr 7;13(4):244.doi: 10.3390/biology13040244.

Abstract

Soil salinization is one of the leading threats to global ecosystems, food security, and crop production. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) are potential bioinoculants that offer an alternative eco-friendly agricultural approach to enhance crop productivity from salt-deteriorating lands. The current work presents bacterial strain CNUC13 from maize rhizosphere soil that exerted several PGPR traits and abiotic stress tolerance. The strain tolerated up to 1000 mM NaCl and 30% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 and showed plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits, including the production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and siderophore as well as phosphate solubilization. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain CNUC13 was Microbacterium azadirachtae. Maize plants exposed to high salinity exhibited osmotic and oxidative stresses, inhibition of seed germination, plant growth, and reduction in photosynthetic pigments. However, maize seedlings inoculated with strain CNUC13 resulted in significantly improved germination rates and seedling growth under the salt-stressed condition. Specifically, compared with the untreated control group, CNUC13-treated seedlings exhibited increased biomass, including fresh weight and root system proliferation. CNUC13 treatment also enhanced photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids), reduced the accumulation of osmotic (proline) and oxidative (hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde) stress indicators, and positively influenced the activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase). As a result, CNUC13 treatment alleviated oxidative stress and promoted salt tolerance in maize. Overall, this study demonstrates that M. azadirachtae CNUC13 significantly enhances the growth of salt-stressed maize seedlings by improving photosynthetic efficiency, osmotic regulators, oxidative stress resilience, and antioxidant enzyme activity. These findings emphasize the potential of utilizing M. azadirachtae CNUC13 as a bioinoculant to enhance salt stress tolerance in maize, providing an environmentally friendly approach to mitigate the negative effects of salinity and promote sustainable agriculture.

See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38666856/

Figure 1. Plant growth-promoting traits and abiotic stress tolerance of Microbacterium azadirachtae CNUC13. (A–C) CNUC13 produced the highest level of IAA among other rhizobacteria over 7 days (A) and was capable of tricalcium phosphate solubilization (B) and siderophores production (C). (D,E) CNUC13 tolerated up to 30% PEG6000 osmotic stress (D) and 1000 mM NaCl salt stress (E). Data in (D,E) are expressed as the mean  ±  standard error of the mean (SEM, n= 4–5). Tukey’s multiple comparisons analyses: a, main effect of incubation time (p < 0.05); b, main effect of abiotic stress (p < 0.05); c, main effect of interaction (p < 0.05).