Neha Gautam1*, Pankaj Sharma2, JC Rana3 and Mohar Singh4
1Department of Microbiology, St. Bede’s College, Navbahar Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
2Department of Botany, Govt. Degree College, Karsog, District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India
3Division of Germplasm Evaluation, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, India
4National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Regional Station, Phagli, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
*Corresponding Author: Neha Gautam, Department of Microbiology, St. Bede’s College Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Received: November 02, 2020; Published: January 28, 2020
The beneficial bacteria present in the area around the plant roots. These are termed as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). These bacteria are useful to enhance plant growth and curb plant diseases. The objectives of the present study were to isolate, identify and characterize PGPR traits in psychrotolerant bacteria native to rhizosphere of a threatened high valued medicinal plant Gentiana kurroo Royle. In total 10 bacterial isolates were isolated, out of which isolate AGII showed maximum antagonism against tested phytopathogens. Therefore, isolate AGII was selected further to study in vitro growth promoting attributes and for phylogenetic identification. Bacterial isolate AGII was identified as Bacillus weihenstephanensis by 16SrRNA gene sequence and has been registered in NCBI under the accession number MF593886. Plant growth promoting traits of this isolate were studied by performing following assays viz., Phosphate solubilization, Ammonia Production, HCN production, Protease production. The isolated bacterial strain was studied for its inhibitory potential against deadly plant pathogens by using a dual culture in vitro assay. In the present investigation, Bacillus weihenstephanensis MF593886 was tested against deadly plant pathogens viz., Alternaria solani MTCC 2101, Botrytis cinerea MTCC 2350, Fusarium oxysporum MTCC 7677, Rhizoctonia solani MTCC 4633, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides MTCC 9664 and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum MTCC 8785. It is capable to produce siderophore, HCN, ammonia, proteases and has a potential to solubilize phosphates. The present study proposes the potential of Bacillus weihenstephanensis as a PGPR in the context of cold agro-ecosystems.
Keywords: Bacillus weihenstephanensis; Biofertilizers; Psychrotolerant; PGPR; Proteolysis; Siderophore
Citation: Neha Gautam., et al. “Characterization of Bacillus weihenstephanensis AGII: A Psychrotolerant Bacteria Isolated from Rhizosphere of Medicinal Plant Gentiana kurroo Royle". Acta Scientific Agriculture 5.2 (2020): 52-57.
Copyright: © 2021 Neha Gautam., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.