Alleviation of Sodic Stress in Rice by Exploring the Exopolysaccharide-Producing Sodic-Tolerant Bacteria

Abstract

Sodicity is one of the major salt stresses that impair crop production. Exopolysaccharide-producing sodic tolerant bacteria (EPS-STB) play a significant role in reducing the sodic stress in plants by hampering the uptake of sodium. In this context, this study aims to isolate the EPS-STB for alleviating sodic stress in rice under a sodic environment. Thus, artificial sodicity was created in culture media, and 253 bacteria were isolated from the rice rhizosphere of sodic soils in Trichy and Chinna Salem of Tamil Nadu in India. Fifty bacterial isolates were initially screened based on EPS production, sodic tolerant ability, and plant growth-promoting activities. Further, these bacterial isolates were identified using 16S rDNA sequencing. The results suggested that the isolated bacteria possessed biofilm-forming abilities along with plant growth-promoting activities and osmolyte accumulation under sodic stress conditions. Bacillus rugosus L1C7T, Bacillus paralicheniformis L1C5L, Pseudomonas sp. L5C14T and Franconibacter helveticus L2C1L2 were chosen as better EPS-STB plant growth-promoting bacteria, and their impact on rice under sodic conditions was evaluated. Among the sodic tolerant bacteria, Franconibacter helveticus L2C1L2-inoculated rice plants increased dry matter production compared to the control. Thus, this study showed that the utilization of EPS-STB will become a promising tool to alleviate sodic stress in rice.

Biocontrol of bacterial seedling rot of rice plants using combination of Cytobacillus firmus JBRS159 and silicon

“…For example, C. firmus (formerly known as Bacillus firmus) has been reported to promote plant growth and antagonistic activity against nematodes [48][49][50]. Recent studies have indicated that C. firmus produces IAA, and the antimicrobial activities of silver nanoparticles synthesized using C. firmus make the strain of potential interest [51,52]. In our study, JBRS159 did not show direct antagonism against bacterial and fungal pathogens but produced siderophores and showed protease activity.…”

“…firmus produces IAA, and the antimicrobial activities of silver nanoparticles synthesized using C . firmus make the strain of potential interest [ 51 , 52 ]. In our study, JBRS159 did not show direct antagonism against bacterial and fungal pathogens but produced siderophores and showed protease activity.…”