The auxin-producing Bacillus thuringiensis RZ2MS9 promotes the growth and modifies the root architecture of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom)

Author(s)

Batista, Bruna Durante ^{[1, 2]} ; Dourado, Manuella Nobrega ^[3] ; Figueredo, Everthon Fernandes ^[1] ; Hortencio, Renata Ockner ^[1] ; Marques, Joao Paulo Rodrigues ^[4] ; Piotto, Fernando Angelo ^[5] ; Bonatelli, Maria Leticia ^{[6, 1]} ; Settles, Matthew L. ^[6] ; Azevedo, Joao Lucio ^[1] ; Quecine, Maria Carolina ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, Dept Genet, 11 Padua Dias Ave, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Western Sydney, Hawkesbury Inst Environm, Richmond, NSW - Australia

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Biomed Inst, Dept Microbiol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, Lab Nucl Instrumentat, Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, Dept Crop Sci, Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[6] Univ Calif Davis, Bioinformat Core, Davis, CA 95616 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Archives of Microbiology; v. 203, n. 7, p. 3869-3882, SEP 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Strains of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are commonly commercialized as bioinoculants for insect pest control, but their benefits go beyond their insecticidal property: they can act as plant growth-promoters. Auxins play a major role in the plant growth promotion. However, the mechanism of auxin production by the Bacilli group, and more specifically by Bt strains, is unclear. In previous work, the plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) B. thuringiensis strain RZ2MS9 increased the corn roots. This drew our attention to the strain's auxin production trait, earlier detected in vitro. Here, we demonstrate that in its genome, RZ2MS9 harbours the complete set of genes required in two pathways that are used for Indole acetic acid (IAA) production. We also detected that the strain produces almost five times more IAA during the stationary phase. The bacterial application increased the shoot dry weight of the Micro-Tom (MT) tomato by 24%. The application also modified MT root architecture, with an increase of 26% in the average lateral root length and inhibition of the axial root. At the cellular level, RZ2MS9-treated MT plants presented elongated root cortical cells with intensified mitotic activity. Altogether, these are the best characterized auxin-associated phenotypes. Besides that, no growth alteration was detected in the auxin-insensitive diageotropic (dgt) plants either with or without the RZ2MS9 inoculation. Our results suggest that auxins play an important role in the ability of B. thuringiensis RZ2MS9 to promote MT growth and provide a better understanding of the auxin production mechanism by a Bt strain. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/01188-9 - Phenotypic and genome-wide association studies of the interaction between Burkholderia ambifaria RZ2MS16, a plant growth promoter rhizobacteria, and the tropical maize
• Grantee: João Lúcio de Azevedo
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/11026-1 - Bacterial biosynthesis of indole acetic acid l-tryptophan dependent and influence on the modulation of vegetal growth
• Grantee: Everthon Fernandes Figueredo
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master