Abstract
Sugarcane is a major crop in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In China, the application of large amounts of nitrogen (N) fertilizer to boost sugarcane yield is commonplace, but it causes substantial environmental damages, particularly soil, and water pollution. Certain rhizosphere microbes are known to be beneficial for sugarcane production, but much of the sugarcane rhizosphere microflora remains unknown. We have isolated several sugarcane rhizosphere bacteria, and 27 of them were examined for N-fixation, plant growth promotion, and antifungal activity. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to identify these strains. Among the isolates, several strains were found to have a relatively high activity of nitrogenase and ACC deaminase, the enzyme that reduces ethylene production in plants. These strains were found to possess nifH and acdS genes associated with N-fixation and ethylene production, respectively. Two of these strains, Pantoea dispersa-AA7 and Enterobacter asburiae-BY4 showed maximum plant growth promotion (PGP) and nitrogenase activity, and thus they were selected for detailed analysis. The results show that they colonize different sugarcane tissues, use various growth substrates (carbon and nitrogen), and tolerate various stress conditions (pH and osmotic stress). The positive effect of AA7 and BY4 strains on nifH and stress-related gene (SuCAT, SuSOD, SuPAL, SuCHI, and SuGLU) expression and the induction of defense-related processes in two sugarcane varieties, GT11 and GXB9, showed their potential for stress amelioration and PGP. Both bacterial strains increased several sugarcane physiological parameters. i.e., plant height, shoot weight, root weight, leaf area, chlorophyll content, and photosynthesis, in plants grown under greenhouse conditions. The ability of rhizobacteria on N-fixing in sugarcane was also confirmed by a 15N isotope-dilution study, and the estimate indicates a contribution of 21–35% of plant nitrogen by rhizobacterial biological N fixation (BNF). This is the first report of sugarcane growth promotion by N-fixing rhizobacteria P. dispersa and E. asburiae strains. Both strains could be used as biofertilizer for sugarcane to minimize nitrogen fertilizer use and better disease management.
Highlights
Sustainable production of food to feed the growing population remains a major challenge
The soil adhered to the roots was separated manually by gently removing it from roots (Barillot et al, 2013), and after removing the debris, the soil was filtered through a 2 mm sieve, and the filtered soil fraction was stored at 4◦C for further use
Soil samples did not show any deficiency for calcium, magnesium, and micronutrients (Supplementary Table S4)
Summary
Sustainable production of food to feed the growing population remains a major challenge This may be achieved by expanding the area of agriculture, pest and disease management, increasing soil fertility, agriculture intensification, and improving crop varieties. The application of higher N fertilizer contributes to the soil, groundwater, and air pollution, and higher cost of crop production (Zhu and Chen, 2002; Yang et al, 2020). Sugarcane diseases such as smut, red rot, wilt, and ratoon stunt disease cause extensive yield loss in many countries (Viswanathan and Rao, 2011)
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