Bacterial Endophytes of Spring Wheat Grains and the Potential to Acquire Fe, Cu, and Zn under Their Low Soil Bioavailability

Abstract

Wheat grains are usually low in essential micronutrients. In resolving the problem of grain micronutritional quality, microbe-based technologies, including bacterial endophytes, seem to be promising. Thus, we aimed to (1) isolate and identify grain endophytic bacteria from selected spring wheat varieties (bread Oksamyt myronivs’kyi, Struna myronivs’ka, Dubravka, and emmer Holikovs’ka), which were all grown in field conditions with low bioavailability of microelements, and (2) evaluate the relationship between endophytes’ abilities to synthesize auxins and the concentration of Fe, Zn, and Cu in grains. The calculated biological accumulation factor (BAF) allowed for comparing the varietal ability to uptake and transport micronutrients to the grains. For the first time, bacterial endophytes were isolated from grains of emmer wheat T. turgidum subsp. dicoccum. Generally, the 12 different isolates identified in the four varieties belonged to the genera Staphylococcus, Pantoea, Sphingobium, Bacillus, Kosakonia, and Micrococcus (NCBI accession numbers: MT302194—MT302204, MT312840). All the studied strains were able to synthesize the indole-related compounds (IRCs; max: 16.57 µg∙mL−1) detected using the Salkowski reagent. The IRCs produced by the bacterial genera Pantoea spp. and Bacillus spp. isolated from high-yielding Oksamyt myronivs’kyi and Holikovs’ka grains may be considered as one of the determinants of the yield of wheat and its nutritional characteristics.

Plant organ- and growth stage-diversity of endophytic bacteria with potential as biofertilisers isolated from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…Similar results were obtained by Gdanetz and Trail (2017) when they surveyed the wheat microbiome across plant organs and land management strategies, using high throughput sequencing techniques [ 35 ]. Recently, twelve different endophytic bacteria isolated from grains of spring wheat varieties grown in soils with low bioavailability of microelements were found to synthesise indole-related compounds, including IAA, with phytohormonal activity [ 36 ]. Here, we aimed to investigate the distribution of endophytic bacteria with PGP abilities in four plant organs (root, stem, leaf, and seed) of three winter wheat varieties and at tillering, jointing, heading and seed-filling stages of the plant growth.…”

Rapid growth of antimicrobial resistance: the role of agriculture in the problem and the solutions

“…Whole grains carry a range of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (Carrizo et al 2016;Wu et al 2018) with a range of Lactobacillus Pediococcus, Leuconostoc and Enterococcus species capable of performing sourdough fermentation. Bacterial and fungal endophytes are known as plant probiotics and are extensively documented in grains (Ahlawat et al 2021;Makar et al 2021) and legumes (Ruiz Mostacero et al 2021). Recently microbiota of poultry feed raw ingredients such as meat and bone meal, wheat, corn, canola, barley, soybean, millrun, sorghum, poultry oil, oats, limestone and bloodmeal was described using the 16S methodology (Haberecht et al 2020).…”

Feed Safety and the Development of Poultry Intestinal Microbiota

“…Endophytes are endosymbionts, most likely bacteria or fungi, that live inside or on the plant in a mutually beneficial relationship and therefore are a big part of the plant and seed residential microbiota. Bacterial and fungal endophytes are well-reviewed and documented in grains [ 63 , 64 , 65 ] and in legumes [ 66 ], thus adding more evidence to the observation of grain microbiota. The high prevalence of probiotics in grains and above discussed high prevalence of pathogens in protein-rich feedstuffs indicate that the first feed offered to hatchlings, selected and formulated to promote the growth of probiotics and inhibit pathogens, should be grain-based and rely on grains and cereals as a protein source for the first few days of gut microbiota establishment.…”