​Potential of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Plant Growth Promotion

Abstract

Background: Lactic acid bacteria are regarded the most important bacteria concerning food fermentation, pharmaceutical and special dietary applications. Strains have been isolated from environments rich in available carbohydrate substrates, such as food and feed, but also in human and animal cavities and in sewage and plant material. Besides lactic acid, other side products include acetate, ethanol, CO2, formate and succinate. The most important advantage of Lactic acid bacteria making them suitable for the use in food biotechnology, is that they are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Studies on Lactic acid bacteria isolated from aerial parts of plants are scarce. Bacteria that colonize plant roots and promote plant growth are referred to as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Several substances produced by antagonistic rhizobacteria have been related to pathogen control and indirect promotion of growth in many plants. The present work explores the potential use of Lactic acid bacteria in promotion of plant growth. Methods: Three isolates were obtained from aerial parts of pomegranate plant and confirmed by 16S rRNA sequencing to belong to Leuconostoc sp. The isolates were checked for plant growth promoting traits viz. antifungal activity, production of plant growth hormones, enzymes and 1-amino cyclopropane carboxylate deaminase activity. Result: As LAB showed plant growth promoting traits, they can be suitably used for plant growth promotion.