Selection of the root endophyte pseudomonas brassicacearum cdvbn10 as plant growth promoter for brassica napus l. Crops

36 páginas, 6 tablas, 6 figuras

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important crop worldwide, due to its multiple uses, such as a human food, animal feed and a bioenergetic crop. Traditionally, its cultivation is based on the use of chemical fertilizers, known to lead to several negative effects on human health and the environment. Plant growth-promoting bacteria may be used to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, but efficient bacteria in controlled conditions frequently fail when applied to the fields. Bacterial endophytes, protected from the rhizospheric competitors and extreme environmental conditions, could overcome those problems and successfully promote the crops under field conditions. Here, we present a screening process among rapeseed bacterial endophytes to search for an efficient bacterial strain, which could be developed as an inoculant to biofertilize rapeseed crops. Based on in vitro, in planta, and in silico tests, we selected the strain Pseudomonas brassicacearum CDVBN10 as a promising candidate; this strain produces siderophores, solubilizes P, synthesizes cellulose and promotes plant height in 5 and 15 days-post-inoculation seedlings. The inoculation of strain CDVBN10 in a field trial with no addition of fertilizers showed significant improvements in pod numbers, pod dry weight and shoot dry weight. In addition, metagenome analysis of root endophytic bacterial communities of plants from this field trial indicated no alteration of the plant root bacterial microbiome; considering that the root microbiome plays an important role in plant fitness and development, we suggest this maintenance of the plant and its bacterial microbiome homeostasis as a positive result. Thus, Pseudomonas brassicacearum CDVBN10 seems to be a good biofertilizer to improve canola crops with no addition of chemical fertilizers; this the first study in which a plant growth-promoting (PGP) inoculant specifically designed for rapeseed crops significantly improves this crop’s yields in field conditions.

This research was funded by EUROPEAN UNION’S HORIZON 2020 research and innovation programme, grant number 750795. AJG is the recipient of a FPU predoctoral fellowship from the Central Spanish Government and ZSS received a grant from the Junta de Castilla y Leon, Spanish Regional Government. EM acknowledges a FCT contract from the Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus 2017 (CEECIND/00270/2017).

Peer reviewed