Evaluation of the potential of multi-trait PGPR isolates as inoculants for maize (Zea mays L.) growth
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with a diverse set of traits can improve crop yield in agriculture. The current study aimed to evaluate the potential of multi-trait PGPR isolates as inoculants for maize (Zea mays L.) growth.
Materials and Methods: In this study, 23 bacterial isolates were initially screened from maize plant rhizosphere. Ten isolates (A1–A10) were selected based on N fixation, P and K solubilization and their in vitro specific PGPR traits, such as solubilization of Zn, and Mn, the production of IAA, siderophore, ammonia, and HCN were assayed. Finally, the potential of selected isolates in enhancing the germination, height, shoot collar diameter, shoot fresh and dry weight biomass, and root dry weight of maize were evaluated.
Results: Among the positive-PGPR colonies, the selected isolates demonstrated the better performance of PGPR traits such as highest nitrogen fixation, P, K, Mn, and Zn solubilization, and production of siderophore, HCN, NH3, and IAA. In addition, the maize seed germination and improvement of maize yield in a pot experiment were observed after their treatment by bacterial inoculants. Biochemical characteristics, 16S rDNA amplification, and sequencing demonstrated a high similarity of PGPR isolates to the strains of Enterobacter, Pantoea, Kluyvera, Lelliottia, Klebsiella, Pectobacterium, and Stenotrophomonas.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that these strains could prove effective PGPR inoculants for the improvement of maize crops as multiple bio-fertilizers.
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2. Naamala J, Smith DL. Relevance of plant growth promoting microorganisms and their derived compounds, in the face of climate change. Agronomy 2020; 10: 1179.
3. Bhat MA, Mishra AK, Jan S, Bhat MA, Kamal MA, Rahman S, et al. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in plant health: A perspective study of the underground interaction. Plants (Basel) 2023; 12: 629.
4. Kumar M, Poonam, Ahmad S, Singh RP. Plant growth promoting microbes: Diverse roles for sustainable and ecofriendly agriculture. Energy Nexus 2022; 7: 100133.
5. Vocciante M, Grifoni M, Fusini D, Petruzzelli G, Franchi E. The role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in mitigating plant’s environmental stresses. Appl Sci 2022; 12: 1231.
6. Kumari B, Mallick MA, Solanki MK, Solanki AC, Hora A, Guo W (2019). Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR): modern prospects for sustainable agriculture. Plant Health Under Biotic Stress: Volume 2: Microbial Interactions: Springer. p. 109-127.
7. Pankaj U (2020). Bio-Fertilizers for Management of Soil, Crop, and Human Health. Microbes in Agriculture and Environmental Development: CRC Press. p. 71-86.
8. Forchetti G, Masciarelli O, Izaguirre MJ, Alemano S, Alvarez D, Abdala G. Endophytic bacteria improve seedling growth of sunflower under water stress, produce salicylic acid, and inhibit growth of pathogenic fungi. Curr Microbiol 2010; 61: 485-493.
9. Souza Rd, Ambrosini A, Passaglia LM. Plant growth-promoting bacteria as inoculants in agricultural soils. Genet Mol Biol 2015; 38: 401-419.
10. Kirkby EA (2023). Introduction, definition, and classification of nutrients. Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Plants. p. 3-9.
11. Kumar S, Kumar S, Mohapatra T. Interaction between macro‐and micro-nutrients in plants. Front Plant Sci 2021; 12: 665583.
12. Zuberer DA (2021). Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation: introduction and nonsymbiotic. Principles and applications of soil microbiology. p. 423-53.
13. Mahmud K, Makaju S, Ibrahim R, Missaoui A. Current progress in nitrogen fixing plants and microbiome research. Plants (Basel) 2020; 9: 97.
14. Kumawat N, Kumar R, Kumar S, Meena VS (2017). Nutrient solubilizing microbes (NSMs): its role in sustainable crop production. Agriculturally Important Microbes for Sustainable Agriculture. pp. 25-61.
15. Backer RGM, Saeed W, Seguin P, Smith DL. Root traits and nitrogen fertilizer recovery efficiency of corn grown in biochar-amended soil under greenhouse conditions. Plant Soil 2017; 415: 465-477.
16. Tripathi DK, Singh S, Singh S, Mishra S, Chauhan DK, Dubey NK. Micronutrients and their diverse role in agricultural crops: advances and future prospective. Acta Physiol Plant 2015; 37: 139.
17. Saha M, Sarkar S, Sarkar B, Sharma BK, Bhattacharjee S, Tribedi P. Microbial siderophores and their potential applications: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2016; 23: 3984-3999.
18. Eshaghi E, Nosrati R, Owlia P, Malboobi MA, Ghaseminejad P, Ganjali MR. Zinc solubilization characteristics of efficient siderophore-producing soil bacteria. Iran J Microbiol 2019; 11: 419-430.
19. Khan N, Bano A, Ali S, Babar MA. Crosstalk amongst phytohormones from planta and PGPR under biotic and abiotic stresses. Plant Growth Regul 2020; 90: 189-203.
20. Chandra S, Askari K, Kumari M. Optimization of indole acetic acid production by isolated bacteria from Stevia rebaudiana rhizosphere and its effects on plant growth. J Genet Eng Biotechnol 2018; 16: 581-586.
21. Andorf C, Beavis WD, Hufford M, Smith S, Suza WP, Wang K, et al. Technological advances in maize breeding: past, present and future. Theor Appl Genet 2019; 132: 817-849.
22. Erenstein O, Jaleta M, Sonder K, Mottaleb K, Prasanna BM. Global maize production, consumption and trade: trends and R&D implications. Food Secur 2022; 14: 1295-1319.
23. Pereira SIA, Abreu D, Moreira H, Vega A, Castro PML. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) improve the growth and nutrient use efficiency in maize (Zea mays L.) under water deficit conditions. Heliyon 2020; 6(10): e05106.
24. Gaby JC, Buckley DH. A comprehensive evaluation of PCR primers to amplify the nifH gene of nitrogenase. PLoS One 2012; 7(7): e42149.
25. Nosrati R, Owlia P, Saderi H, Olamaee M, Rasooli I, Akhavian TA. Correlation between nitrogen fixation rate and alginate productivity of an indigenous Azotobacter vinelandii from Iran. Iran J Microbiol 2012; 4: 153-159.
26. Malboobi MA, Owlia P, Behbahani M, Sarokhani E, Moradi S, Yakhchali B, et al. Solubilization of organic and inorganic phosphates by three highly efficient soil bacterial isolates. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2009; 25: 1471-1477.
27. Nosrati R, Owlia P, Saderi H, Rasooli I, Malboobi MA. Phosphate solubilization characteristics of efficient nitrogen fixing soil Azotobacter strains. Iran J Microbiol 2014; 6: 285-295.
28. Singh TB, Sahai V, Goyal D, Prasad M, Yadav A, Shrivastav P, et al. Identification, characterization and evaluation of multifaceted traits of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria from soil for sustainable approach to agriculture. Curr Microbiol 2020; 77: 3633-3642.
29. Ijaz A, Mumtaz MZ, Wang X, Ahmad M, Saqib M, Maqbool H, et al. Insights into manganese solubilizing Bacillus spp. for improving plant growth and manganese uptake in maize. Front Plant Sci 2021; 12: 719504.
30. Sirohi G, Upadhyay A, Srivastava PS, Srivastava S. PGPR mediated Zinc biofertilization of soil and its impact on growth and productivity of wheat. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 2015; 15: 202-216.
31. Moreira H, Pereira SIA, Vega A, Castro PML, Marques APGC. Synergistic effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting bacteria benefit maize growth under increasing soil salinity. J Environ Manage 2020; 257: 109982.
32. Sharma R, Sindhu S, Sindhu S. Suppression of Alternaria blight disease and plant growth promotion of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) by antagonistic rhizosphere bacteria. Appl Soil Ecol 2018; 129: 145-150.
33. Breedt G, Labuschagne N, Coutinho TA. Seed treatment with selected plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria increases maize yield in the field. Ann Appl Biol 2017; 171: 229-236.
34. Rana A, Saharan B, Joshi M, Prasanna R, Kumar K, Nain L. Identification of multi-trait PGPR isolates and evaluating their potential as inoculants for wheat. Ann Microbiol 2011; 61: 893-900.
35. Guo J, Jia Y, Chen H, Zhang L, Yang J, Zhang J, et al. Growth, photosynthesis, and nutrient uptake in wheat are affected by differences in nitrogen levels and forms and potassium supply. Sci Rep 2019; 9: 1248.
36. Billah M, Khan M, Bano A, Hassan TU, Munir A, Gurmani AR. Phosphorus and phosphate solubilizing bacteria: Keys for sustainable agriculture. Geomicrobiol J 2019; 36: 904-916.
37. Kaur T, Devi R, Kumar S, Sheikh I, Kour D, Yadav AN. Microbial consortium with nitrogen fixing and mineral solubilizing attributes for growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Heliyon 2022; 8(4): e09326.
38. Rajkumar R, Kurinjimalar C (2021). Microbes and plant mineral nutrition. Microbiological Activity for Soil and Plant Health Management. p. 111-132.
39. Rouached H. Recent developments in plant zinc homeostasis and the path toward improved biofortification and phytoremediation programs. Plant Signal Behav 2013; 8(1): e22681.
40. Pandey R (2015). Mineral nutrition of plants. Plant Biology and Biotechnology: Volume I: Plant Diversity, Organization, Function and Improvement: Springer. p. 499-538.
41. Gaonkar T, Bhosle S. Effect of metals on a siderophore producing bacterial isolate and its implications on microbial assisted bioremediation of metal contaminated soils. Chemosphere 2013; 93: 1835-1843.
42. Yousef NMH. Capability of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for producing indole acetic acid (IAA) under extreme conditions. Eur J Biol Res 2018; 8: 174-182.
43. Ahmad F, Ahmad I, Khan MS. Screening of free-living rhizospheric bacteria for their multiple plant growth promoting activities. Microbiol Res 2008; 163: 173-181.
44. Rudolph N, Labuschagne N, Aveling TAS. The effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on seed germination and seedling growth of maize. Seed Sci Technol 2015; 43: 507-518.
2. Naamala J, Smith DL. Relevance of plant growth promoting microorganisms and their derived compounds, in the face of climate change. Agronomy 2020; 10: 1179.
3. Bhat MA, Mishra AK, Jan S, Bhat MA, Kamal MA, Rahman S, et al. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in plant health: A perspective study of the underground interaction. Plants (Basel) 2023; 12: 629.
4. Kumar M, Poonam, Ahmad S, Singh RP. Plant growth promoting microbes: Diverse roles for sustainable and ecofriendly agriculture. Energy Nexus 2022; 7: 100133.
5. Vocciante M, Grifoni M, Fusini D, Petruzzelli G, Franchi E. The role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in mitigating plant’s environmental stresses. Appl Sci 2022; 12: 1231.
6. Kumari B, Mallick MA, Solanki MK, Solanki AC, Hora A, Guo W (2019). Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR): modern prospects for sustainable agriculture. Plant Health Under Biotic Stress: Volume 2: Microbial Interactions: Springer. p. 109-127.
7. Pankaj U (2020). Bio-Fertilizers for Management of Soil, Crop, and Human Health. Microbes in Agriculture and Environmental Development: CRC Press. p. 71-86.
8. Forchetti G, Masciarelli O, Izaguirre MJ, Alemano S, Alvarez D, Abdala G. Endophytic bacteria improve seedling growth of sunflower under water stress, produce salicylic acid, and inhibit growth of pathogenic fungi. Curr Microbiol 2010; 61: 485-493.
9. Souza Rd, Ambrosini A, Passaglia LM. Plant growth-promoting bacteria as inoculants in agricultural soils. Genet Mol Biol 2015; 38: 401-419.
10. Kirkby EA (2023). Introduction, definition, and classification of nutrients. Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Plants. p. 3-9.
11. Kumar S, Kumar S, Mohapatra T. Interaction between macro‐and micro-nutrients in plants. Front Plant Sci 2021; 12: 665583.
12. Zuberer DA (2021). Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation: introduction and nonsymbiotic. Principles and applications of soil microbiology. p. 423-53.
13. Mahmud K, Makaju S, Ibrahim R, Missaoui A. Current progress in nitrogen fixing plants and microbiome research. Plants (Basel) 2020; 9: 97.
14. Kumawat N, Kumar R, Kumar S, Meena VS (2017). Nutrient solubilizing microbes (NSMs): its role in sustainable crop production. Agriculturally Important Microbes for Sustainable Agriculture. pp. 25-61.
15. Backer RGM, Saeed W, Seguin P, Smith DL. Root traits and nitrogen fertilizer recovery efficiency of corn grown in biochar-amended soil under greenhouse conditions. Plant Soil 2017; 415: 465-477.
16. Tripathi DK, Singh S, Singh S, Mishra S, Chauhan DK, Dubey NK. Micronutrients and their diverse role in agricultural crops: advances and future prospective. Acta Physiol Plant 2015; 37: 139.
17. Saha M, Sarkar S, Sarkar B, Sharma BK, Bhattacharjee S, Tribedi P. Microbial siderophores and their potential applications: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2016; 23: 3984-3999.
18. Eshaghi E, Nosrati R, Owlia P, Malboobi MA, Ghaseminejad P, Ganjali MR. Zinc solubilization characteristics of efficient siderophore-producing soil bacteria. Iran J Microbiol 2019; 11: 419-430.
19. Khan N, Bano A, Ali S, Babar MA. Crosstalk amongst phytohormones from planta and PGPR under biotic and abiotic stresses. Plant Growth Regul 2020; 90: 189-203.
20. Chandra S, Askari K, Kumari M. Optimization of indole acetic acid production by isolated bacteria from Stevia rebaudiana rhizosphere and its effects on plant growth. J Genet Eng Biotechnol 2018; 16: 581-586.
21. Andorf C, Beavis WD, Hufford M, Smith S, Suza WP, Wang K, et al. Technological advances in maize breeding: past, present and future. Theor Appl Genet 2019; 132: 817-849.
22. Erenstein O, Jaleta M, Sonder K, Mottaleb K, Prasanna BM. Global maize production, consumption and trade: trends and R&D implications. Food Secur 2022; 14: 1295-1319.
23. Pereira SIA, Abreu D, Moreira H, Vega A, Castro PML. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) improve the growth and nutrient use efficiency in maize (Zea mays L.) under water deficit conditions. Heliyon 2020; 6(10): e05106.
24. Gaby JC, Buckley DH. A comprehensive evaluation of PCR primers to amplify the nifH gene of nitrogenase. PLoS One 2012; 7(7): e42149.
25. Nosrati R, Owlia P, Saderi H, Olamaee M, Rasooli I, Akhavian TA. Correlation between nitrogen fixation rate and alginate productivity of an indigenous Azotobacter vinelandii from Iran. Iran J Microbiol 2012; 4: 153-159.
26. Malboobi MA, Owlia P, Behbahani M, Sarokhani E, Moradi S, Yakhchali B, et al. Solubilization of organic and inorganic phosphates by three highly efficient soil bacterial isolates. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2009; 25: 1471-1477.
27. Nosrati R, Owlia P, Saderi H, Rasooli I, Malboobi MA. Phosphate solubilization characteristics of efficient nitrogen fixing soil Azotobacter strains. Iran J Microbiol 2014; 6: 285-295.
28. Singh TB, Sahai V, Goyal D, Prasad M, Yadav A, Shrivastav P, et al. Identification, characterization and evaluation of multifaceted traits of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria from soil for sustainable approach to agriculture. Curr Microbiol 2020; 77: 3633-3642.
29. Ijaz A, Mumtaz MZ, Wang X, Ahmad M, Saqib M, Maqbool H, et al. Insights into manganese solubilizing Bacillus spp. for improving plant growth and manganese uptake in maize. Front Plant Sci 2021; 12: 719504.
30. Sirohi G, Upadhyay A, Srivastava PS, Srivastava S. PGPR mediated Zinc biofertilization of soil and its impact on growth and productivity of wheat. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 2015; 15: 202-216.
31. Moreira H, Pereira SIA, Vega A, Castro PML, Marques APGC. Synergistic effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting bacteria benefit maize growth under increasing soil salinity. J Environ Manage 2020; 257: 109982.
32. Sharma R, Sindhu S, Sindhu S. Suppression of Alternaria blight disease and plant growth promotion of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) by antagonistic rhizosphere bacteria. Appl Soil Ecol 2018; 129: 145-150.
33. Breedt G, Labuschagne N, Coutinho TA. Seed treatment with selected plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria increases maize yield in the field. Ann Appl Biol 2017; 171: 229-236.
34. Rana A, Saharan B, Joshi M, Prasanna R, Kumar K, Nain L. Identification of multi-trait PGPR isolates and evaluating their potential as inoculants for wheat. Ann Microbiol 2011; 61: 893-900.
35. Guo J, Jia Y, Chen H, Zhang L, Yang J, Zhang J, et al. Growth, photosynthesis, and nutrient uptake in wheat are affected by differences in nitrogen levels and forms and potassium supply. Sci Rep 2019; 9: 1248.
36. Billah M, Khan M, Bano A, Hassan TU, Munir A, Gurmani AR. Phosphorus and phosphate solubilizing bacteria: Keys for sustainable agriculture. Geomicrobiol J 2019; 36: 904-916.
37. Kaur T, Devi R, Kumar S, Sheikh I, Kour D, Yadav AN. Microbial consortium with nitrogen fixing and mineral solubilizing attributes for growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Heliyon 2022; 8(4): e09326.
38. Rajkumar R, Kurinjimalar C (2021). Microbes and plant mineral nutrition. Microbiological Activity for Soil and Plant Health Management. p. 111-132.
39. Rouached H. Recent developments in plant zinc homeostasis and the path toward improved biofortification and phytoremediation programs. Plant Signal Behav 2013; 8(1): e22681.
40. Pandey R (2015). Mineral nutrition of plants. Plant Biology and Biotechnology: Volume I: Plant Diversity, Organization, Function and Improvement: Springer. p. 499-538.
41. Gaonkar T, Bhosle S. Effect of metals on a siderophore producing bacterial isolate and its implications on microbial assisted bioremediation of metal contaminated soils. Chemosphere 2013; 93: 1835-1843.
42. Yousef NMH. Capability of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for producing indole acetic acid (IAA) under extreme conditions. Eur J Biol Res 2018; 8: 174-182.
43. Ahmad F, Ahmad I, Khan MS. Screening of free-living rhizospheric bacteria for their multiple plant growth promoting activities. Microbiol Res 2008; 163: 173-181.
44. Rudolph N, Labuschagne N, Aveling TAS. The effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on seed germination and seedling growth of maize. Seed Sci Technol 2015; 43: 507-518.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 16 No 6 (2024) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v16i6.17260 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Bio-fertilizer; Plant growth regulators; Rhizobacteria; Siderophore; Zea mays | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Eshaghi E, Mousae S, Hendiyani A, Habibi Khave A, Nosrati R. Evaluation of the potential of multi-trait PGPR isolates as inoculants for maize (Zea mays L.) growth. Iran J Microbiol. 2024;16(6):812-826.
