• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.463-481
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• 2022

Phosphorous (P) is considered to be one of the key essential elements demanded by crop plants. Approximately 70 - 90% of phosphatic fertilizers applied to crops are fixed in soil as Ca, Fe, and Al metal cations, which are insoluble and thus not readily available for plant uptake. Therefore, most soils are deficient in plant available P. This is usually rectified by applying phosphate fertilizers continuously, although this is not economically viable or environmentally acceptable. The present paper reviews the mechanisms involved with phosphate solubilization and mineralization by phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSMs) with the associated factors that determine the success. PSMs are effectively involved in mediating the bioavailability of soil P. Their contribution includes mineralization of organic P solubilization of inorganic P minerals, and storing sizable amounts of P in biomass through different mechanisms such as the production of organic and inorganic acids, H₂S, siderophores, exopolysaccharides, and production of enzymes such as phosphatases, phytase, and phosphonatases/C-P lyases, which are capable of chelating the metal ions, forming complexes, and making plant available P. PSMs manifest a wide range of metabolic functions in different environments, resulting in significantly higher plant growth, enhanced soil properties, and increased biological activities. Therefore, development of bio-inoculants with efficient novel PSM strains and further investigations on exploring such strains from diverse ecological niches with multifunctional plant-growth-promoting traits are needed.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.430-448
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• 2023

Recently, strategies for controlling Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol), the causal agent of Fusarium wilt of tomato, focus on using effective biocontrol agents. In this study, an analysis of the biocontrol and plant growth promoting (PGP) attributes of 11 isolates of loamy soil Bacillus spp. has been conducted. Among them, the isolates B.PNR1 and B.PNR2 inhibited the mycelial growth of Fol by inducing abnormal fungal cell wall structures and cell wall collapse. Moreover, broad-spectrum activity against four other plant pathogenic fungi, F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 1 (Foc), Sclerotium rolfsii, Colletotrichum musae, and C. gloeosporioides were noted for these isolates. These two Bacillus isolates produced indole acetic acid, phosphate solubilization enzymes, and amylolytic and cellulolytic enzymes. In the pot experiment, the culture filtrate from B.PNR1 showed greater inhibition of the fungal pathogens and significantly promoted the growth of tomato plants more than those of the other treatments. Isolate B.PNR1, the best biocontrol and PGP, was identified as Bacillus stercoris by its 16S rRNA gene sequence and whole genome sequencing analysis (WGS). The WGS, through genome mining, confirmed that the B.PNR1 genome contained genes/gene cluster of a nonribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthase, such as fengycin, surfactin, bacillaene, subtilosin A, bacilysin, and bacillibactin, which are involved in antagonistic and PGP activities. Therefore, our finding demonstrates the effectiveness of B. stercoris strain B.PNR1 as an antagonist and for plant growth promotion, highlighting the use of this microorganism as a biocontrol agent against the Fusarium wilt pathogen and PGP abilities in tomatoes.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.137-146
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• 1998

Various rhizobacteria was isolated, and was bacterialized into the substrates to clarify the plant growth promoting effects of rhizobacteria on the early growth of red peper seedlings. Total 125 bacterial isolates were primarily isolated and purified from the soils in greenhouse. And four strains were finally screened, based on the antifungal activities against Fusarium sp., Pythium sp. and Rhizoctonia sp. of red pepper plants. The strongest antifungal strain RB 109 has a antagonistic activity against Fusarium sp., Pythium sp. and Rhizoctonia sp. in terms of 66.0%, 65.0% and 66.1%. Early growth of red pepper seedlings was promoted, when cultured solution of rhizobacteria RB 109 was bacterialized into the substrates. Antifungal rhizobacteria RB 109 was identified as Pseudomonas sp. related strains, which has a similarity of 82% to the Pseudomonas sp.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.251-258
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• 2016

A rhizobacterium LPN-2, which showed strong antifungal activity and auxin producing ability, was isolated from a farmland in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Based on analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence, strain LPN-2 was identified as a novel strain of Burkholderia and was designated as Burkholderia sp. LPN-2. In vitro experiments showed that the isolated stain LPN-2 significantly produced auxin within 48 hr incubation. In order to check for PGPR function we performed in vivo growth promoting test in different crops, including mung bean, pea and cabbage. Application of Burkholderia sp. LPN-2 showed dramatic growth promoting effect on all the tested plants. We also confirmed siderophore and cellulase productions by Burkholderia sp. LPN-2 using CAS blue agar and CMC plate test. Further treatment with LPN-2 and the crude culture broth was effective in suppressing anthracnose in vitro test and also reduced incidence and severity of anthracnose in apple and pepper. Taken together, we conclude that Burkholderia sp. LPN-2 might be used as organic fertilizer for effective crop production in organic farming.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.261-267
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• 2012

Coastal sand dunes are important for ecosystems due to the variety of rare species that can be found in this kind of habitat, and the beautiful landscapes they create. For environmental remediation, a potential strategy is phytoremediation using the symbiotic relationship of plants and microbes in the rhizosphere, which has proven ecologically sound, safe, and cost effective. Ninety-five colonies were isolated from the rhizosphere soil (RS) or rhizoplane (RP) of Rorippa islandica, Rumex crispus, Artemisia princeps var. orientalis, Lilium sp Stellaria media, and Gramineae. These colonies were then tested for plant growth promoting activities (PGPAs) such as 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity, and siderphores synthesis ability. In addition, salt tolerance was evaluated at 4% and 8% salt concentrations. It was observed that amongst the test subjects about 50% of the strains had a high resistance to salinity. Many of them could produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) IAA (in RS 13.9% and in RP 7.6%), exhibited ACC deaminase activity (55.8% in RS and 36.6% in RP), and could synthesize siderphores (62.7% in RS and 50% in RP). Correlation coefficient analyses were carried out for the three kinds of plant growth promoting abilities (PGPA) and salt tolerance. A positive correlation was found between an ability to synthesize siderphores and ACC deaminase activity (r=0.605, p<0.037). Similarly, positive correlations were noted between salt tolerance and ACC deaminase activity (r=0.762, p<0.004, r=0.771), and salt tolerance and an ability to synthesize siderphores (r=0.771, p<0.003).

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.199-207
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• 2024

We conducted to investigate both plant growth-promoting and plant disease-controlling activities of bacterial strains isolated from soil. Among the 48 isolated strains, SH-23, SH-26, SH-29, and SH-33 were identified as excellent strains for the production of β-glucosidase, cellulase, amylase, and protease. These 4 strains exhibited antifungal activity against plant pathogenic fungi (Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Colletotrichum acutatum). Strain SH-26, which exhibited excellent organic matter decomposition and antifungal activity against plant pathogenic fungi, was selected as the final superior strain. Upon determining the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the selected SH-26 strain, it exhibited 100% similarity with Pseudomonas knackmussii HG322950 B13^T, Pseudomonas citronellolis BCZY01000096 NBRC 103043^T, and Pseudomonas delhiensis jgi.1118306 RLD-1^T. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the Pseudomonas sp. SH-26 exhibited siderophore production, nitrogen fixation ability, and the production of Indole-3-acetic acid.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.925-933
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• 2020

To develop eco-friendly microbial inoculants, siderophore-producing bacteria were isolated and identified, and their production characteristics and plant growth-promoting abilities were investigated. A strain S21 was isolated from rhizosphere of Korean perilla (Perilla frutescens) and identified as Enterobacter amnigenus by phenotypic properties and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The highest siderophore production was obtained in a medium containing 0.5% fructose, 0.1% urea, 0.5% K₂HPO₄ and 0.1% succinic acid. By using this improved medium, siderophore production increased by 2.5 times compared to that of basal medium. The strain S21 showed insoluble phosphate solubilizing, ammonification and antifungal activities, and also produced hydrolytic enzymes (protease and lipase), indoleacetic acid and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase. Our data suggest that E. amnigenus S21 is a potential candidate that can be used as eco-friendly biocontrol agent and biofertilizer.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 2016

Out of plant-associated bacteria, certain plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been reported to increase plant growth and productivity and to elicit induced resistance against plant pathogens. In this study, our objective was to broaden the range of applications of leaf-colonizing PGPB for foliar parts of road tress and pepper. Total 1,056 isolates of endospore-forming bacteria from tree phylloplanes were collected and evaluated for the enzymatic activities including protease, lipase, and chitinase and antifungal capacities against two fungal pathogens, Colletotrichum graminicola and Botrytis cinerea. Fourteen isolates classified as members of the bacilli group displayed the capacity to colonize pepper leaves after spraying inoculation. Three strains, 5B6, 8D4, and 8G12, and the mixtures were employed to evaluate growth promotion, yield increase and defence responses under field condition. Additionally, foliar application of bacterial preparation was applied to the road tress in Yuseong, Daejeon, South Korea, resulted in increase of chlorophyll contents and leaf thickness, compared with non-treated control. The foliar application of microbial preparation reduced brown shot-hole disease of Prunus serrulata L. and advanced leaf abscission in Ginkgo biloba L. Collectively, our results suggest that leaf-colonizing bacteria provide potential microbial agents to increase the performance of woody plants such as tree and pepper through spray application.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1045-1059
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• 2021

Various abiotic stressors like drought, salinity, temperature, and heavy metals are major environmental stresses that affect agricultural productivity and crop yields all over the world. Continuous changes in climatic conditions put selective pressure on the microbial ecosystem to produce exopolysaccharides. Apart from soil aggregation, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production also helps in increasing water permeability, nutrient uptake by roots, soil stability, soil fertility, plant biomass, chlorophyll content, root and shoot length, and surface area of leaves while also helping maintain metabolic and physiological activities during drought stress. EPS-producing microbes can impart salt tolerance to plants by binding to sodium ions in the soil and preventing these ions from reaching the stem, thereby decreasing sodium absorption from the soil and increasing nutrient uptake by the roots. Biofilm formation in high-salinity soils increases cell viability, enhances soil fertility, and promotes plant growth and development. The third environmental stressor is presence of heavy metals in the soil due to improper industrial waste disposal practices that are toxic for plants. EPS production by soil bacteria can result in the biomineralization of metal ions, thereby imparting metal stress tolerance to plants. Finally, high temperatures can also affect agricultural productivity by decreasing plant metabolism, seedling growth, and seed germination. The present review discusses the role of exopolysaccharide-producing plant growth-promoting bacteria in modulating plant growth and development in plants and alleviating extreme abiotic stress condition. The review suggests exploring the potential of EPS-producing bacteria for multiple abiotic stress management strategies.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1457-1464
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• 2013

We investigated the optimal conditions for keratinase production by feather-degrading Pseudomonas geniculata H10 using one variable at a time (OVT) method. The optimal medium composition and cultural condition for keratinase production were determined to be glucose 0.15% (w/v), beef extract 0.08% (w/v), $KH_2PO_4$ 0.12% (w/v), $K_2HPO_4$ 0.02% (w/v), NaCl 0.07% (w/v), $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$ 0.03%, $MgCl_2{\cdot}6H_2O$ 0.04% along with initial pH 10 at 200 rpm and $25^{\circ}C$, respectively. The production yield of keratinase was 31.6 U/ml in an optimal condition, showing 4.6-fold higher than that in basal medium. The strain H10 also showed plant growth promoting activities. This strain had ammonification activity and produced indoleacetic acid (IAA), siderophore and a variety of hydrolytic enzymes such as protease, lipase and chitinase. Therefore, this study showed that P. geniculata H10 could be not only used to upgrade the nutritional value of feather wastes but also useful in situ biodegradation of feather wastes. Moreover, it is also a potential candidate for the development of biofertilizing agent applicable to crop plant soil.