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. 2021 Jan 18:8:617034.
doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.617034. eCollection 2020.

Deciphering the Potential of Rhizobium pusense MB-17a, a Plant Growth-Promoting Root Endophyte, and Functional Annotation of the Genes Involved in the Metabolic Pathway

Twinkle Chaudhary  1 , Rajesh Gera  2 , Pratyoosh Shukla  1
Affiliations

Deciphering the Potential of Rhizobium pusense MB-17a, a Plant Growth-Promoting Root Endophyte, and Functional Annotation of the Genes Involved in the Metabolic Pathway

Twinkle Chaudhary et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. .

Abstract

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are root endophytic bacteria used for growth promotion, and they have broader applications in enhancing specific crop yield as a whole. In the present study, we have explored the potential of Rhizobium pusense MB-17a as an endophytic bacterium isolated from the roots of the mung bean (Vigna radiata) plant. Furthermore, this bacterium was sequenced and assembled to reveal its genomic potential associated with plant growth-promoting traits. Interestingly, the root endophyte R. pusense MB-17a showed all essential PGPR traits which were determined by biochemical and PGPR tests. It was noted that this root endophytic bacterium significantly produced siderophores, indole acetic acid (IAA), ammonia, and ACC deaminase and efficiently solubilized phosphate. The maximum IAA and ammonia produced were observed to be 110.5 and 81 μg/ml, respectively. Moreover, the PGPR potential of this endophytic bacterium was also confirmed by a pot experiment for mung bean (V. radiata), whose results show a substantial increase in the plant's fresh weight by 76.1% and dry weight by 76.5% on the 60th day after inoculation of R. pusense MB-17a. Also, there is a significant enhancement in the nodule number by 66.1% and nodule fresh weight by 162% at 45th day after inoculation with 100% field capacity after the inoculation of R. pusense MB-17a. Besides this, the functional genomic annotation of R. pusense MB-17a determined the presence of different proteins and transporters that are responsible for its stress tolerance and its plant growth-promoting properties. It was concluded that the unique presence of genes like rpoH, otsAB, and clpB enhances the symbiosis process during adverse conditions in this endophyte. Through Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology (RAST) analysis, the key genes involved in the production of siderophores, volatile compounds, indoles, nitrogenases, and amino acids were also predicted. In conclusion, the strain described in this study gives a novel idea of using such type of endophytes for improving plant growth-promoting traits under different stress conditions for sustainable agriculture.

Keywords: ACC deaminase; RAST; Rhizobium pusense MB-17a; Vigna radiata; endophyte; indole acetic acid; plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR); siderophore.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of abiotic factors (A) temperature and (B) PEG on the growth of Rhizobium pusense MB-17a.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of abiotic factors (A) salt and (B) pH on the growth of Rhizobium pusense MB-17a.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of time and different tryptophan concentrations on IAA production.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Quantification evaluation of (A) ACC deaminase activity, (B) ammonia production, and (C) phosphate solubilization.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Phylogenetic tree of Rhizobium pusense MB-17a with their closest neighbor.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Genomic annotation of Rhizobium pusense MB-17a.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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