Effects of phosphate solubilization and phytohormone production of Trichoderma asperellum Q1 on promoting cucumber growth under salt stress

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting crop growth and yield.This study investigated the underlying mechanisms of Trichoderma asperellum Q1 in promoting cucumber growth under salt stress, including the abilities of the strain to solubilize phosphate and to produce phytohormone.The results showed that T.asperellum Q1 could solubilize inorganic or organic phosphate and the activities of phosphatases and phytase could be detected in the culture supernatant.In hydroponic experiments, the growth of cucumber seedlings was increased in the hydroponic system treated by culture filtrate of strain Q1 with tricalcium phosphate or calcium phytate under salt stress.This strain also exhibited the ability to produce indole acetic acid（IAA）, gibberellic acid（GA） and abscisic acid（ABA） in liquid medium without any inducers.The levels of those three phytohormones in cucumber seedling leaves also increased after inoculated with this strain, along with increased root growth and root activities of the plant.These results demonstrated the mechanisms of T.asperellum Q1 in alleviating the suppression effect of salt stress involving the change of phytohormone levels in cucumber plant and its ability of phosphate solubilization.

Phosphate solubilization potential of native rhizospheric microflora and their impact on growth of Madhuca latifolia(Mahua):An oil yielding medicinal plant of India

Madhuca latifolia is an economically important medicinal and oil yielding plant of India having slow growth rate.As microbial application to the rhizosphere of host plant are beneficial for growth and development of plants,a comprehensive experimental study by using native microflora of Madhuca latifolia had been carried out in the nursery conditions.Isolation and identification of native rhizospheric soil revealed the occurrence of 17 different types of bacteria(gram negative and positive)and 30 numbers of fungi belonging to myceloid type,Aspergillus,Alternaria,Colletotrichum,Fusarium and Penicillium.Present study was confined to phosphate solubilizing microbes for which solubilization potential(solubilization index and solubilization efficiency)was evaluated.Inoculation experiments in pot culture with red laterite soil were set in two experimental categories(1)non-transplanted and(2)transplanted.Plants grown under both the conditions with and without microbial application were maintained up to 120 days and final data recorded for morphological,physiological growth and as soil parameters.The mineral solubilizing potential of native microbial strains has been expressed.Fungal inoculants were more effective than the bacterial inoculants as far as the growth and development of plants concerned.Among all,bacteria MLB-1,MLB-6,Aspergillus terreus and non-sporulating dematiaceous form of fungi were prominent in improving plant growth.This has also been confirmed the useful and beneficial impact of indigenous organism.The records made during the study is useful for development of bioinoculants for forest trees,nursery of quality planting material which will also helps in establishment at plantation site.

Bibliometric analysis of soil phosphate solubilizing microorganisms research using VOSviewer

Phosphorus-solubilizing microbes play key roles in improving phosphorus availability and in alleviating phosphorus nutrient limitation in soils. However, we did not have a comprehensive understanding of the overall research progress and development trend of phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms. In this study, we obtain documents from the Web of Science (WOS) core collection between 2002 and 2022, and a comprehensive review of the progress of global research on soil phosphate solubilizing microorganisms was conducted by using the VOSviewer bibliometric analysis tool. The results showed an increasing trend in the number of published articles from 2002 to 2022. India, accounting for 28% of the total number of published articles, became the most productive country. However, Canada was the country with the highest average citation frequency of articles. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was the greatest contributor with the most publications. Among the published journals, Frontiers in Microbiology, Applied Soil Ecology and Plant and Soil were the top three core journals in this field. Based on the keyword analysis, the assessment of the mechanisms between phosphorus solubilizing microbes and the soil carbon cycles with the different management practices became the new research trend among the scientific communities. These findings would provide an important reference value for future in-depth research on soil phosphate solubilizing microorganisms.

Effect of Lanthanum on Solubilization of Rock Phosphate in Liquid Culture by Aspergillus Niger and Penicillium Oxalicum

Rock phosphate (RP) is a low efficient P fertilizer when directly used in the soil. Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (PSMs) can solubilize RP in fermentation or soil condition. The effect of different concentration of lanthanum (La) on the solubilization of RP was investigated by two isolates of phosphate-solubilizing fungi (PSF) Aspergillus niger P39 and Penicillium oxalicum P66 in liquid culture. Experimental results show that relatively higher concentration of La in the culture solution inhibites fungal growth and delays RP solubilizing activity of two isolates. This inhibitory effect of La on RP solubilization varies with PSF (isolate P66 is more sensitive to La than P39 in this experiment). Comparing the pH value of culture media with soluble P content as affected by La application, only within individual isolate not different isolates the negatively significant relationship was observed.

Analysis of NPK in Camellia sinensis, Gliricidia sepium, and Musa acuminata Biomasses for Preparation of an Organic Fertilizers Formula for Young Tea Plants (Musa acuminata) and Studying of Their Nutrient Release Capacity in the Biodegradation Process

This study investigates the nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) contents in raw biomasses of Camellia sinensis, Gliricidia sepium, and Musa acuminata. Therein, the highest N and P content was seen in Camellia sinensis 116.80 ± 0.08 mg and 66.00 ± 0.14 mg respectively. The highest K content (106.80 ± 0.04 mg) was observed in Musa acuminata. Next, all three types of plant materials were allowed to decompose in water for 3 weeks, and a sample from each was analyzed for NPK after the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd week during decomposition. A significant increase in the release of N, P, and K by the Camellia sinensis to water (P Musa acuminate were not significantly changed (P > 0.05) over time. The ratio for N:P:K was calculated for raw biomass samples and decomposed samples to find the best fitting N:P:K ratio to apply to young tea plants as organic fertilizers. In addition to that, the microbial insight of these organic compounds was analyzed by observing how microbial population increased with decomposition by the enumeration of the total microbial count. A considerable increment in total microbial count was observed up to 3.28 × 106, 1.21 × 1010, 2.18 × 108, and 6.49 × 107 CFU/ml for Camellia sinensis, Gliricidia sepium, Musa accuminata (leaves), and Musa accuminata (trunk) respectively. The presence of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and nitrogen solubilizing bacteria (NSB) throughout the decomposition period was confirmed by their growth on NBRIP and a modified nutrient medium that was specifically designed for the identification of ammonifiers respectively. Prepared fertilizer samples were applied to young tea plants that were grown in the Mawanella area in Sri Lanka (7°15'12.42"N 80°26'47.62"E) and according to the results, it is clear that fertilizer mixture 1 (N:P:K, 10:5:10, tea dust + Gliricidia + banana trunk) and fertilizer mixture 2 (N:P:K, 10:5:10, tea dust + Gliricidia + banana leaves) has the potential to increase the growth of young tea plants.

Growth promoting effect of microbial inoculants on Acacia nilotica grown under nursery conditions

Present study was carried out on Acacia nilotica seedlings grown under different bioinoculation treatments by using laboratory grown liquid cultures of 10 fungal isolates,11 Rhizobium isolates and 5 other bacterial isolates.Microbial cultures were screened for their effects on growth of Acacia nilotica grown in greenhouse conditions.The selected microbial inoculants were assessed as considering their individual performance or in combination with the other inoculants in specific ratios.The higher performance was shown with the combination of Penicillum chrysogenum Thom.1,B 5 bacterial isolate,R10 and/or R11 isolates of Rhizobium.Further,it was observed that the above microbial mixed culture inoculation was promoted plant growth specifically number of leaves and the leaf biomass.Therefore,nursery application of mixed microbial inoculants,specifically as above could be beneficial for the production of quality planting material(QPM)of Acacia nilotica and subsequent field applications.

Soil organic carbon and phosphorus availability regulate abundance of culturable phosphate-solubilizing bacteria in paddy fields

Low availability of phosphorus(P) is a major constraint for optimal crop production, as P is mostly present in its insoluble form in soil. Therefore,phosphate-solubilizing bacteria(PSB) from paddy field soils of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, India were isolated, and their abundance was attempted to be correlated with the physicochemical characteristics of the soils. Ninety-four PSB were isolated on Pikovskaya’s agar medium, and quantitative phosphate solubilization was evaluated using NBRIP medium. The isolates solubilized P up to a concentration of 1 006 μg mL-1 from tricalcium phosphate with the secretion of organic acids. These isolates were identified by 16 S rRNA gene sequence comparison, and they belonged to Gammaproteobacteria(56 isolates),Firmicutes(28 isolates), Actinobacteria(8 isolates), and Alphaproteobacteria(2 isolates). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the identification by clustering the isolates in the clade of the respective reference organisms. The correlation analysis between PSB abundance and physicochemical characteristics revealed that the PSB population increased with increasing levels of soil organic carbon, insoluble P, K+, and Mg2+. The promising PSB explored in this study can be further evaluated for their biofertilizer potential in the field and for their use as potent bio-inoculants.

Improvement of phosphorus uptake,phosphorus use efficiency,and grain yield of upland rice(Oryza sativa L.)in response to phosphate-solubilizing bacteria blended with phosphorus fertilizer

Phosphorus(P)limitation in soil is a major concern for crop productivity.However,the use of chemical fertilizer is hazardous to the environment and costly.Therefore,the use of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria(PSB)is an eco-friendly approach for a sustainable agricultural system.In the present study,a field trial was conducted for two consecutive years to study the effects of three PSB strains isolated,Bacillus licheniformis,Pantoea dispersa,and Staphylococcus sp.,with different P fertilizer rates on P uptake,P use efficiency(PUE),and grain yield of rice.The activities of soil enzymes were also studied in relation to PSB treatments.Comparative analysis of the yield and biochemical parameters revealed that inoculation of PSB consortium could reduce almost 50%of the recommended P dose in rice cultivation.Three PSB strains in combination with 50%P dose was most effective and showed the highest increases in P uptake and PUE as compared to the uninoculated control.Moreover,the PSB consortium combined with 50%P dose contributed to 50.58%and35.64%yield increases compared to the uninoculated control for 2018 and 2019,respectively.Significant increases in the activities of soil dehydrogenase,alkaline phosphatase,and acid phosphatase were also recorded under PSB treatment.

Zinc phosphate dissolution by bacteria isolated from an oligotrophic karst cave in central China

Biogeochemical processes are fundamental to sustain the ecosystem in subsurface caves, but to date they are still far from well understood. To investigate micro-bially mediated phosphorus and zinc cycles, we isolated three bacterial strains from the dripping water in Heshang cave, central China, identified as Exiguobacterium aurantiacum E11, Pseudomonas fluorescens P35, and Pseu- domonas poae P41, respectively. Microbial capabilities in the dissolution of phosphorus-containing minerals were tested with zinc phosphate （Zn3（PO4）2） in batch culture at 30~C. A spectrophotometer, atomic absorption spectrum, and scanning electronic microscopy were used to measure the microbial growth, soluble Zn（II） concentration, and to observe the morphology of Zn3（PO4）2 before and after microbial dissolution. P. fluorescens and P. poae, the well- known phosphorus solubilizing bacteria （PSB）, are observed to solubilize Zn3（PO4）2 with an efficiency of 16.7% and 17.6%, respectively. To our knowledge, E. aurantiacum is firstly reported in this study to dissolve phosphorous-containing minerals with a higher efficiency of 39.7%, expanding our understanding about the ubiquitous occurrence of PSB in natural environments. Aqueous Zn（II） concentration positively correlates with H＋ activity, confirming the presence of acidification mechanisms widely exploited by PSB. Few itching pits were observed on the surface of Zn3（PO4）2 after microbial dissolution, inferring that microbial dissolution is not always associated with the direct contact with minerals. Even though the soluble Zn（II） concentration reached up to 370 mg/L in the system inoculated with E. aurantiacum Ell, inhibition of microbial growth was not detected by spectrophotometer. Our laboratory data revealed the importance of microbially-mediated P and Zn cycles in the subsurface ecosystem.

Role of beneficial microbial gene pool in mitigating salt/nutrient stress of plants in saline soils through underground phytostimulating signalling molecules

Soil salinity diminishes soil health and reduces crop yield,which is becoming a major global concern.Salinity stress is one of the primary stresses,leading to several other secondary stresses that restrict plant growth and soil fertility.The major secondary stresses induced in plants under saline-alkaline conditions include osmotic stress,nutrient limitation,and ionic stress,all of which negatively impact overall plant growth.Under stressed conditions,certain beneficial soil microflora are known to have evolved phytostimulating mechanisms,such as the synthesis of osmoprotectants,siderophores,1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid(ACC)deaminase activity,phosphate solubilization,and hormone production,which enhance plant growth and development while mitigating nutrient stress.Beneficial soil-borne bacterial species such as Bacillus,Pseudomonas,and Klebsiella and fungal strains such as Trichoderma,Aspergillus,Penicillium,Alternaria,and Fusarium also aid in reducing salinity stress.Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms also assist in nutrient acquisition via both enzymatic and non-enzymatic processes.In the case of enzymatic processes,they produce different enzymes such as alkaline phosphatases and phytases,whereas non-enzymatic processes produce organic acids such as gluconic,citric,malic,and oxalic acids.The native halotolerant/halophilic soil microbial gene pool with multifunctional traits and stress-induced gene expression can be developed as suitable bio-inoculants to enhance stress tolerance and optimize plant growth in saline soils.

Co-inoculation of indigenous Pseudomonas oryzihabitans and Bradyrhizobium sp.modulates the growth,symbiotic efficacy,nutrient acquisition,and grain yield of soybean

Soil microbes play a vital role in improving plant growth,crop productivity,and soil health through solubilization of essential nutrients.Present investigation was conducted to access the efficacy of Bradyrhizobium sp.LSBR-3 and the indigenous phosphate-solubilizing Pseudomonas oryzihabitans LSE-3 in improving the symbiosis,nutrient accumulation,and yield of soybean.The isolate LSE-3,selected on the basis of phosphate solubilization,was screened for beneficial traits,antagonistic activities,and pathogenicity.The levels of indole acetic acid production(50.34±2.35μg mL^(-1)),phosphate solubilization(184.4±7.4 mg L^(-1)),biofilm formation(optical density at 560 mm,1.3896±0.04),siderophore production(121.46±1.61μg mL^(-1)),and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity(0.51±0.07 mmolα-ketobutyrateμg^(-1) protein h^(-1))were significantly higher with the dual inoculants(LSBR-3 and LSE-3)than with the single inoculant LSBR-3.The plant growth-promoting traits of single and dual inoculants were evaluated for the synergistic effects on soybean under field conditions.Soybean plots treated with LSBR-3+LSE-3 exhibited improvement in seed germination,plant height,plant biomass,and chlorophyll content compared with the uninoculated control.Dual inoculant treatments resulted in significantly higher symbiotic efficacy evidenced by increased nodulation(40.0±0.75 plant^(-1)),nodule biomass(188.52±6.29 mg plant^(-1)),and leghemoglobin content(11.02±0.83 mg g^(-1) fresh nodule),and significantly increased activities of phosphatase(75.16±3.17 and 58.77±6.08μg p-nitrophenol g^(-1) h^(-1) for alkaline and acid phosphatase,respectively)and dehydrogenase(32.66±1.92μg triphenylformazan g^(-1) h^(-1))compared with the control.Dual inoculation with LSBR-3 and LSE-3 enhanced the uptake of macro-and micronutrients,reduced Na content in shoots,and resulted in 10.85%higher grain yield and ca.US$96.80 ha^(-1) higher profit compared with the control.This is the first report on the effectiveness of combined inoculation of LSE-3 and LSBR-3 in promoting the growth,symbiotic efficacy,and yield of soybean for sustainable agriculture.

Rhizoplane microbiota of superior wheat varieties possess enhanced plant growth-promoting abilities

BACKGROUND： Microbes affect the growth of plants. In this study, the diversity and plant growth-supporting activities of wheat rhizospheric bacteria were examined. METHODS： Sampling was performed thrice at different phases of plant growth. Microbes associated with the rhizoplane of three wheat varieties （Seher, Lasani, and Faisalabad） were cultured and assessed for their plant growth-promoting abilities based on auxin production, hydrogen cyanide production, phosphate solubilization, and nitrogen fixation. RESULTS： Bacterial load （CFU/mL） declined, and the succession of bacterial diversity occurred as the plants aged. Most auxin-producing bacteria and the highest concentrations of auxin （77 ~tg/mL） were observed during the second sampling point at the filleting stage. The Seher variety harbored the most auxin-producing as well as phosphate-solubilizing bacteria. Most of the bacteria belonged to Bacillus and Pseudomonas. Planomicrobium, Serratia, Rhizobium, Brevundimonas, Stenotropho- monas, and Exiguobacterium sp. were also found. CONCLUSIONS： These results suggest that the rhizoplane microbiota associated with higher-yield plant varieties have better plant growth-promoting abilities as compared to the microbiota associated with lower-yield plant varieties.

Applications of beneficial plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and mycorrhizae in rhizosphere and plant growth:A review

Because of climate change and the highly growing world population,it becomes a huge challenge to feed the whole population.To overcome this challenge and increase the crop yield,a large number of fertilizers are applied but these have many side effects.Instead of these,scientists have discovered beneficial rhizobacteria,which are environmentally friendly and may increase crop yield and plant growth.The microbial population of the rhizosphere shows a pivotal role in plant development by inducing its physiology.Plant depends upon the valuable interactions among the roots and microbes for the growth,nutrients availability,growth promotion,disease suppression and other important roles for plants.Recently numerous secrets of microbes in the rhizosphere have been revealed due to huge development in molecular and microscopic technologies.This review illustrated and discussed the current knowledge on the development,maintenance,interactions of rhizobacterial populations and various proposed mechanisms normally used by PGPR in the rhizosphere that encouraging the plant growth and alleviating the stress conditions.In addition,this research reviewed the role of single and combination of PGPR,mycorrhizal fungi in plant development and modulation of the stress as well as factors affecting the microbiome in the rhizosphere.

Toxicological effects of TiO_(2) nanoparticles on plant growth promoting soil bacteria

Emerging contaminants like metal nanoparticles get introduced into soil through different routes.Toxic effects of these contaminants on plant growth-promoting bacteria(PGPB),which influence plant productivity,can be detrimental to soil health.Titanium dioxide is one of the most produced nanomaterials in the world and therefore potentially the most released nanoform in soil.The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles(TiO2 NPs)on plant growth-promoting bacteria.Three types of PGPB,viz.,nitrogen fixers,phosphate solubilizers and biofilm formers were exposed to TiO2 NPs.Our results suggest that direct contact of the bacteria with these NPs is inhibitory as compared to when these bacteria are growing in laboratory nutrient media in the presence of NPs.The inhibitory effect did not follow a linear dose response but instead showed a pronounced step response.Soils with their varying characteristics may not afford the same protection to bacteria as laboratory nutrient media and thus TiO2 NPs may cause some sensitive PGPB to disappear from soil.The resultant shift in bacterial community composition may affect ecosystem functioning.