Growth and aluminum tolerance of maize roots mediated by auxin- and cytokinin-producing Bacillus toyonensis requires polar auxin transport

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Izzeddine Zakarya Zerrouk - , University of Constantine 3, Higher National Agronomic School (Author)
  • Bilal Rahmoune - , Higher National Agronomic School, Ibn Khaldoun University (Author)
  • Susann Auer - , Faculty of Biology (Author)
  • Sabine Rößler - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Tao Lin - , University of Bonn (Author)
  • Frantisek Baluska - , University of Bonn (Author)
  • Petre I. Dobrev - , Czech Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Václav Motyka - , Czech Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Jutta Ludwig-Müller - , Faculty of Biology (Author)

Abstract

Plant Growth Promotion Rhizobacteria (PGPR) control plant development by modulation of their phytohormone activities. To probe how PGPR trigger plant growth and mitigate stress induced by aluminum (Al), the beneficial effect of Bacillus toyonensis strain Bt04 (Bt04), isolated from the Algerian Sahara rhizosphere, on maize roots was assessed. Our results revealed that the strain Bt04 is producing indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) both endogenously and from tryptophan (Trp). Surprisingly, the production of another endogenous auxin, a non-indole phenylacetic acid (PAA), was found at higher concentrations than IAA. Additionally, the production of cytokinins (CKs) by Bt04 has been demonstrated. Inoculation with Bt04 resulted in a promotion of maize growth and an enhancement of root development under aluminium (Al) toxicity condition. Importantly, Bt04 reduced Al accumulation in the young maize roots. Moreover, we could demonstrate that Bt04 itself exhibits tolerance to high concentrations of AlCl3. Bt04 might exert its growth promoting effect partially by increasing protection against oxidative stress since bacterial treatment reduced lipid peroxidation in maize seedlings under Al toxicity. To investigate a possible mechanism of this growth induction of maize seedlings we treated them under control and stress conditions with auxin transport inhibitors and demonstrated that the auxin transport pathway is needed for the Al induced stress response after inoculation with the PGPR.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number104064
JournalEnvironmental and Experimental Botany
Volume176
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Aluminum toxicity, Auxin transport inhibitors, Bacillus toyonensis Bt04, Cytokinin, Plant growth promotion, Root architecture

Library keywords