Abstract
Salt stress is an important adverse condition encountered during plant and microbe growth in terrestrial soil ecosystems. Currently, how ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) growth-promoting endophytic bacteria (EB) cope with salt stress and regulate growth and the genes responsible for salt tolerance remain unknown. We applied RNA-Seq technology to determine the growth mechanism of the EB Halomonas sp. MC1 strain and the genes involved in salt tolerance. A total of 893 genes were significantly regulated after salt treatment. These genes included 401 upregulated and 492 downregulated genes. Gene Ontology enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that the most enriched genes included those related to the outer membrane-bounded periplasmic space, ATPase activity, catabolic process, and proton transmembrane transport. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction data were similar to those obtained from RNA-Seq. The MC1 strain maintained survival under salt stress by regulating cellular and metabolic processes and pyruvate metabolism pathways such as organic and carboxylic acid catabolic pathways. We highlighted the response mechanism of Halomonas sp. MC1 to fully understand the dynamics of complex salt–microbe interactions.
Highlights
Abiotic environmental factors considerably affect microbial growth and play a vital role in plant growth and productivity [1]
These mechanisms have been comprehensively investigated for decades, only a few studies have illustrated the changes in gene levels during bacterial growth
Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed significant variations, indicating that NaCl stress considerably affected the growth of the MC1 strain
Summary
Abiotic environmental factors considerably affect microbial growth and play a vital role in plant growth and productivity [1]. Salinity has become a major environmental stress factor because it limits plant growth, and microbial survival [3]. Various strategies have been developed to decrease the toxic effects of salt on plant or bacteria growth. Plants form a symbiotic relationship with endophytic bacteria (EB) throughout their growth and development. This relationship benefits plants in terms of salt stress damage or pathogen invasion as well as sustained plant growth in harsh environments [5]. The beneficial effects of EB on salinized plants have been well studied, most of the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms and gene expression levels need to be identified to optimize the applications of EB in agricultural production
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
