Several reports have highlighted that many plant growth-promoting endophytic bacteria (PGPE) can assist their host plants in coping with various biotic and abiotic stresses. However, information about the PGPE colonizing in the halophytes is still scarce. This study was designed to isolate and characterize PGPE from salt-accumulating halophyte Salicornia europaea grown under extreme salinity and to evaluate in vitro the bacterial mechanisms related to plant growth promotion. A total of 105 isolates were obtained from the surface-sterilized roots, stems, and assimilation twigs of S. europaea. Thirty-two isolates were initially selected for their ability to produce 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase as well as other properties such as production of indole-3-acetic acid and phosphate-solubilizing activities. The 16S rRNA gene-sequencing analysis revealed that these isolates belong to 13 different genera and 19 bacterial species. For these 32 strains, seed germination and seedling growth in axenically grown S. europaea seedlings at different NaCl concentrations (50-500 mM) were quantified. Five isolates possessing significant stimulation of the host plant growth were obtained. The five isolates were identified as Bacillus endophyticus, Bacillus tequilensis, Planococcus rifietoensis, Variovorax paradoxus, and Arthrobacter agilis. All the five strains could colonize and can be reisolated from the host plant interior tissues. These results demonstrate that habitat-adapted PGPE isolated from halophyte could enhance plant growth under saline stress conditions.

Endophytic bacterial communities of halophyte Salicornia europaea roots were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. A total of 20,151 partial 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained. These sequences revealed huge amounts of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), that is, 747-1405 OTUs in a root sample, at 3 % cut-off level. Root endophytes mainly comprised four phyla, among which Proteobacteria was the most represented, followed by Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Gammaproteobacteria was the most abundant class of Proteobacteria, followed by Betaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria. Genera Pantoea, Halomonas, Azomonas, Serpens, and Pseudomonas were shared by all growth periods. A marked difference in endophytic bacterial communities was evident in roots from different host life-history stages. Gammaproteobacteria increased during the five periods, while Betaproteobacteria decreased. The richest endophytic bacteria diversity was detected in the seedling stage. Endophytic bacteria diversity was reduced during the flowering stage and fruiting stage. The five libraries contained 2321 different OTUs with 41 OTUs in common. As a whole, this study first surveys communities of endophytic bacteria by tracing crucial stages in the process of halophyte growth using high-throughput sequencing methods.