ISOLATION AND SCREENING OF BACTERIA FROM Zea mays PLANT GROWTH PROMOTERS

Abstract

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria is a beneficial microbe colonizing plant roots, which enhances crop productivity and offers an attractive way to replace chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and supplements. In Mexico, the corn ( Zea mays L.) is an important annual gramineae crop with a high volume of global production because of the favorable environmental and socioeconomic situation. In this study the isolation of new strains of bacteria under different environmental conditions will enable further research avenues to better use the capacities of root-colonizing bacteria in agricultural production systems. The strains isolates were analyzed for five plant-growth-promoting attributes: N fixation, solubilization of phosphate, production of auxins, siderophores and gibberellins. The identification of bacterial isolates was determined by biochemical assays and VITEK2 Compact (bioMerieux). A total of 143 morphologically distinct rhizobacteria from corn crops of three communities of Guerrero, Mexico, were isolated, and 54 effective multi trait rhizobacteria were found. It was determined that the bacterial isolates are related to Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Serratia, Pantoea, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Burkholderia, Salmonella, Proteus, Acinetobacter, Citrobacter and Streptoccoccus genus. This collection represents the first bank of multi trait activity in Mexico, and it will contribute to future studies as biomolecules for promoting early emergence and growth of the seeds.