Rhizobacteria Bacillus spp. mitigate osmotic stress and improve seed germination in mustard by regulating osmolyte and plant hormone signaling.

Drought, a widespread abiotic stressor, exerts a profound impact on agriculture, impeding germination and plant growth, and reducing crop yields. In the present investigation, the osmotolerant rhizobacteria Bacillus casamancensis strain MKS-6 and Bacillus sp. strain MRD-17 were assessed for their effects on molecular processes involved in mustard germination under osmotic stress conditions. Enhancement in germination was evidenced by improved germination percentages, plumule and radicle lengths, and seedling vigor upon rhizobacterial inoculation under no stress and osmotic stress conditions. Under osmotic stress, rhizobacteria stimulated the production of gibberellins and reserve hydrolytic enzymes (lipases, isocitrate lyase, and malate synthase), bolstering germination. Furthermore, these rhizobacteria influenced the plant hormones such as gibberellins and abscisic acid (ABA), as well as signalling pathways, thereby promoting germination under osmotic stress. Reduced proline and glycine betaine accumulation, and down-regulation of transcription factors BjDREB1_2 and BjDREB2 (linked to ABA-independent signalling) in rhizobacteria-inoculated seedlings indicated that bacterial treatment mitigated water deficit stress during germination, independently of these pathways. Hence, the advantageous attributes exhibited by these rhizobacterial strains can be effectively harnessed to alleviate drought-induced stress in mustard crops, potentially through the development of targeted bio-formulations.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Shewanella putrefaciens and Cronobacter dublinensis enhance drought tolerance of pearl millet by modulating hormones and stress-responsive genes.

Drought is a major abiotic stress that affects crop productivity. Endophytic bacteria have been found to alleviate the adverse effects of drought on plants. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of two endophytic bacteria Shewanella putrefaciens strain MCL-1 and Cronobacter dublinensis strain MKS-1 on pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) under drought stress conditions. Pearl millet plants were grown under three water levels: field capacity (FC), mild drought stress (MD), and severe drought stress (SD). The effects of inoculation on plant growth, physiological attributes, phytohormone content, and drought stress-responsive genes were assessed. The inoculation of pearl millet seeds with endophytes significantly improved shoot and root dry weight and root architecture of plants grown under FC and drought stress conditions. There was a significant increase in relative water content and proline accumulation in the inoculated plants. Among the phytohormones analyzed, the content of ABA and IAA was significantly higher in endophyte-treated plants under all moisture regimes than in uninoculated plants. C. dublinensis-inoculated plants had higher GA content than uninoculated plants under all moisture regimes. The expression level of genes involved in phytohormone biosynthesis (SbNCED, SbGA20oX, and SbYUC) and coding drought-responsive transcription factors (SbAP2, SbSNAC1 and PgDREB2A) was significantly higher under SD in endophyte-inoculated plants than in uninoculated plants. Thus, these endophytic bacteria presumably enhanced the tolerance of pearl millet to drought stress by modulating root growth, plant hormones, physiology and the expression of genes involved in drought tolerance.

Amelioration of short-term drought stress during different growth stages in Brassica juncea by rhizobacteria mediated maintenance of ROS homeostasis.

In the present investigation, the role of rhizobacteria in alleviating the deleterious effects of drought on mustard was assessed. The plants were exposed to short-term water shortages, during the vegetative and reproductive growth stages. Drought stress in both stages had a negative effect on growth, physiological, and biochemical parameters of mustard. Both the root and shoot biomass were significantly reduced in plants exposed to drought, but rhizobacterial inoculation resulted in better plant biomass than uninoculated plants. The ameliorative effects of inoculation were also indicated by improved relative water content, membrane stability index, total chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic parameters. Similarly, inoculation resulted in enhanced activity of antioxidative enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase, and catalase in both stages of growth which possibly increased stress tolerance by maintaining reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis. There was a significant reduction in the accumulation of H2 O2 , proline and total soluble sugar in rhizobacteria treated plants under drought, suggesting that the treated plants did not encounter much stress and could maintain better plant health than uninoculated plants. Expression analysis of the BjP5CSB and BjFeSOD genes was conducted during both the growth stages. Expression of the BjP5CSB gene was significantly down-regulated in inoculated plants under drought, while BjFeSOD gene transcript levels were upregulated. The vegetative stage was more responsive to rhizobacterial inoculations than the reproductive stage under drought. Principal component analysis indicated a differential response by the two growth stages to inoculation. Hence, results indicate that these rhizobacteria reduce the negative impacts of drought in mustard by maintaining ROS homeostasis.