Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama Desert
Drought is a major challenge for agriculture worldwide, being one of the main causes of losses in plant production. Various studies reported that some soil’s bacteria can improve plant tolerance to environmental stresses by the enhancement of water and nutrient uptake by plants. The Atacama Desert i...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/2/158 |
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| author | Christian Santander Felipe González Urley Pérez Antonieta Ruiz Ricardo Aroca Cledir Santos Pablo Cornejo Gladys Vidal |
| author_facet | Christian Santander Felipe González Urley Pérez Antonieta Ruiz Ricardo Aroca Cledir Santos Pablo Cornejo Gladys Vidal |
| author_sort | Christian Santander |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Drought is a major challenge for agriculture worldwide, being one of the main causes of losses in plant production. Various studies reported that some soil’s bacteria can improve plant tolerance to environmental stresses by the enhancement of water and nutrient uptake by plants. The Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest place on earth, harbors a largely unexplored microbial richness. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of various <i>Bacillus</i> sp. from the hyper arid Atacama Desert in the improvement in tolerance to drought stress in lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. var. capitata, cv. “Super Milanesa”) plants. Seven strains of <i>Bacillus</i> spp. were isolated from the rhizosphere of the Chilean endemic plants <i>Metharme lanata</i> and <i>Nolana jaffuelii</i>, and then identified using the 16s rRNA gene. Indole acetic acid (IAA) production, phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity were assessed. Lettuce plants were inoculated with <i>Bacillus</i> spp. strains and subjected to two different irrigation conditions (95% and 45% of field capacity) and their biomass, net photosynthesis, relative water content, photosynthetic pigments, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, oxidative damage, proline production, and phenolic compounds were evaluated. The results indicated that plants inoculated with <i>B. atrophaeus</i>, <i>B. ginsengihumi</i>, and <i>B. tequilensis</i> demonstrated the highest growth under drought conditions compared to non-inoculated plants. Treatments increased biomass production and were strongly associated with enhanced N-uptake, water status, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic activity. Our results show that specific <i>Bacillus</i> species from the Atacama Desert enhance drought stress tolerance in lettuce plants by promoting several beneficial plant traits that facilitate water absorption and nutrient uptake, which support the use of this unexplored and unexploited natural resource as potent bioinoculants to improve plant production under increasing drought conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:48:52Z |
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| id | doaj.art-8d313bd4615b4366a35f8232e2da3610 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:48:52Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-8d313bd4615b4366a35f8232e2da36102024-01-29T14:10:37ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472024-01-0113215810.3390/plants13020158Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama DesertChristian Santander0Felipe González1Urley Pérez2Antonieta Ruiz3Ricardo Aroca4Cledir Santos5Pablo Cornejo6Gladys Vidal7Departamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, ChileDepartamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, ChileDepartamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, ChileDepartamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, ChileDepartamento de Microbiología del Suelo y la Planta, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, SpainDepartamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, ChileEscuela de Agronomía, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas y de los Alimentos, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Quillota 2260000, ChileGrupo de Ingeniería Ambiental y Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales y Centro EULA-Chile, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070411, ChileDrought is a major challenge for agriculture worldwide, being one of the main causes of losses in plant production. Various studies reported that some soil’s bacteria can improve plant tolerance to environmental stresses by the enhancement of water and nutrient uptake by plants. The Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest place on earth, harbors a largely unexplored microbial richness. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of various <i>Bacillus</i> sp. from the hyper arid Atacama Desert in the improvement in tolerance to drought stress in lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. var. capitata, cv. “Super Milanesa”) plants. Seven strains of <i>Bacillus</i> spp. were isolated from the rhizosphere of the Chilean endemic plants <i>Metharme lanata</i> and <i>Nolana jaffuelii</i>, and then identified using the 16s rRNA gene. Indole acetic acid (IAA) production, phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity were assessed. Lettuce plants were inoculated with <i>Bacillus</i> spp. strains and subjected to two different irrigation conditions (95% and 45% of field capacity) and their biomass, net photosynthesis, relative water content, photosynthetic pigments, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, oxidative damage, proline production, and phenolic compounds were evaluated. The results indicated that plants inoculated with <i>B. atrophaeus</i>, <i>B. ginsengihumi</i>, and <i>B. tequilensis</i> demonstrated the highest growth under drought conditions compared to non-inoculated plants. Treatments increased biomass production and were strongly associated with enhanced N-uptake, water status, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic activity. Our results show that specific <i>Bacillus</i> species from the Atacama Desert enhance drought stress tolerance in lettuce plants by promoting several beneficial plant traits that facilitate water absorption and nutrient uptake, which support the use of this unexplored and unexploited natural resource as potent bioinoculants to improve plant production under increasing drought conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/2/158droughtnative <i>Bacillus</i> strainsplant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) |
| spellingShingle | Christian Santander Felipe González Urley Pérez Antonieta Ruiz Ricardo Aroca Cledir Santos Pablo Cornejo Gladys Vidal Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama Desert Plants drought native <i>Bacillus</i> strains plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) |
| title | Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama Desert |
| title_full | Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama Desert |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama Desert |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama Desert |
| title_short | Enhancing Water Status and Nutrient Uptake in Drought-Stressed Lettuce Plants (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) via Inoculation with Different <i>Bacillus</i> spp. Isolated from the Atacama Desert |
| title_sort | enhancing water status and nutrient uptake in drought stressed lettuce plants i lactuca sativa i l via inoculation with different i bacillus i spp isolated from the atacama desert |
| topic | drought native <i>Bacillus</i> strains plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/2/158 |
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