Plant Beneficial Deep-Sea Actinobacterium, <i>Dermacoccus abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup> Promote Growth of Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>) under Salinity Stress

oleh: Pharada Rangseekaew, Adoración Barros-Rodríguez, Wasu Pathom-aree, Maximino Manzanera

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-01-01

Deskripsi

Salt stress is a serious agricultural problem threatens plant growth and development resulted in productivity loss and global food security concerns. Salt tolerant plant growth promoting actinobacteria, especially deep-sea actinobacteria are an alternative strategy to mitigate deleterious effects of salt stress. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of deep-sea <i>Dermacoccus abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup> to mitigate salt stress in tomato seedlings and identified genes related to plant growth promotion and salt stress mitigation. <i>D. abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup> exhibited plant growth promoting traits namely indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and siderophore production and phosphate solubilization under 0, 150, 300, and 450 mM NaCl in vitro. Inoculation of <i>D. abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup> improved tomato seedlings growth in terms of shoot length and dry weight compared with non-inoculated seedlings under 150 mM NaCl. In addition, increased total soluble sugar and total chlorophyll content and decreased hydrogen peroxide content were observed in tomato inoculated with <i>D. abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup>. These results suggested that this strain mitigated salt stress in tomatoes via osmoregulation by accumulation of soluble sugars and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> scavenging activity. Genome analysis data supported plant growth promoting and salt stress mitigation potential of <i>D. abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup>. Survival and colonization of <i>D. abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup> were observed in roots of inoculated tomato seedlings. Biosafety testing on <i>D. abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup> and in silico analysis of its whole genome sequence revealed no evidence of its pathogenicity. Our results demonstrate the potential of deep-sea <i>D. abyssi</i> MT1.1<sup>T</sup> to mitigate salt stress in tomato seedlings and as a candidate of eco-friendly bio-inoculants for sustainable agriculture.