Pseudomonas stutzeri and Kushneria marisflavi Alleviate Salinity Stress-Associated Damages in Barley, Lettuce, and Sunflower

Abstract

Soil salinity is one of the most important abiotic factors limiting plant productivity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of selected halotolerant plant growth-promoting endophytes (PGPEs, Pseudomonas stutzeri ISE12 and Kushneria marisflavi CSE9) on the growth parameters of barley (Hordeum vulgare), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cultivated under salt stress conditions. A negative effect of two higher tested salinities (150 and 300 mM NaCl) was observed on the growth parameters of all investigated plants, including germination percentage and index (decreasing compared to the non-saline control variant in the ranges 5.3–91.7 and 13.6–90.9%, respectively), number of leaves (2.2–39.2%), fresh weight (24.2–81.6%); however, differences in salt stress tolerance among the investigated crops were observed (H. annuus > H. vulgare > L. sativa). Our data showed that the most crucial traits affected by endophyte inoculation under salt stress were chlorophyll concentration, leaf development, water storage, root development, and biomass accumulation. Thus, the influence of endophytes was species specific. K. marisflavi CSE9 promoted the growth of all tested plant species and could be considered a universal PGPEs for many plant genotypes cultivated under saline conditions (e.g., increasing of fresh weight compared to the non-inoculated control variant of barley, lettuce, and sunflower in the ranges 11.4–246.8, 118.9–201.2, and 16.4–77.7%, respectively). P. stutzeri ISE12 stimulated growth and mitigated salinity stress only in the case of barley. Bioaugmentation of crops with halotolerant bacterial strains can alleviate salt stress and promote plant growth; however, the selection of compatible strains and the verification of universal plant stress indicators are the key factors.

An assessment of the physicochemical characteristics and essential oil composition of Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds. exposed to different salt stress conditions

“…The effects of salinity caused by NaCl on plant physiology are common ( Fageria et al., 2012 ). The previous study also shows that increased concentrations of NaCl have an adverse effect on morphology in other plants, such as Dracocephalum moldavia L. ( Mohammadi et al., 2021 ), Ocimum basilicum L. ( Lazarević et al., 2021 ), Oenanthe javanica ( Kumar et al., 2021 ), Suaeda salsa ( Zhang et al., 2020 ), Glycine max L. ( Jabeen et al., 2021 ), Hordeum vulgare , Lactuca sativa , and Helianthus annuus ( Szymańska et al., 2022 ). High Na + interferes with the allocation of other important minerals and reduces water uptake; it alters membrane lipids and induces ROS generation, leading to lipid peroxidation, resulting in a decrease in RWC, photosynthetic pigments, and an increase in El, proline content, DPPH activity in M. longifolia.…”

Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacteria Alleviate Salt and Cadmium Stress in Halophyte Tripolium pannonicum (Jacq.) Dobrocz.

“…In Carreiras’s [ 34 ] research on Halimione portulacoides , both uninoculated and inoculated plants showed significant pigment changes under salt treatments. Szymańska et al [ 61 ] found that halotolerant endophytes ( Pseudomonas stutzeri ISE12 and Kushneria marisflavi CSE9) positively affected chlorophyll levels, leaf morphology, water retention, root growth and biomass accumulation in Hordeum vulgare , Lactuca sativa and Helianthus annuus under salt stress. They suggested that introducing halotolerant bacteria to crops could alleviate salt stress and enhance growth, emphasizing the importance of strain compatibility and validating universal plant stress indicators.…”

Genome-wide analysis of the WSD family in sunflower and functional identification of HaWSD9 involvement in wax ester biosynthesis and osmotic stress

“…Arabidopsis AtWSD1 was up regulated under several abiotic stresses and activate wax biosynthesis in response to environmental stresses. Sunflower growth and productivity are greatly affected by abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought and cold (Allinne et al, 2009;Fulda et al, 2011;Szymańska et al, 2022). The expression of 12 HaWSD genes under different stresses revealed that most of genes can be induced significantly by exogenous ABA and PEG-induced drought stress in sunflower stems, leaves and roots (Figure 3).…”