Multifarious effect of ACC deaminase and EPS producing Pseudomonas sp. and Serratia marcescens to augment drought stress tolerance and nutrient status of wheat

AbstractDrought is the prime abiotic stress that rigorously influences plant growth, yield and quality of crops. The current investigation illustrated the bio-protective characters ofSerratia marcescens andPseudomonas sp. to ameliorate drought stress tolerance, plant growth and nutrient status of wheat. The present study aimed for search of potential drought tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). All screened bacterial isolates exhibited potential plant growth promoting (PGP) attributes such as production of ACC deaminase, exo-polysaccharide, siderophore, ammonia, IAA, and efficiently solubilized zinc and phosphate under in vitro conditions. To assess the in situ plant growth promotion potential of PGPR, a greenhouse experiment was conducted by priming wheat seeds with screened plant PGPR. Improved water status, reactive oxygen species, osmolyte accumulation, chlorophyll and carotenoids content in plant leaves confirmed the excellent drought tolerance conferring ability of RRN II 2 and RRC I 5. Among all PGPR, RRN II 2 and RRC I 5 inoculated plants not only demonstrated greater harvest index but also exhibited more micronutrient (zinc and iron) content in wheat grains. Further, RRN II 2 and RRC I 5 were identified through 16S rDNA sequencing asS. marcescens andPseudomonas sp., respectively. Furthermore, amplification ofacdS gene (Amplified band size ofacdS gene was  ~ 1.8 Kb) also confirmed ACC deaminase enzyme producing ability ofPseudomonas sp. Moreover,...
Source: World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research