Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.

Despite the significant increase in the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) in agriculture, there is a dearth of studies addressing the impact of seed coating with PGPB on plant productivity. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the potential of Bacillus safensis strain B7 as...

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Main Authors: Maissa Ben-Jabeur, Zayneb Kthiri, Salma Jallouli, Kalthoum Harbaoui, Zoubeir Chamekh, Sawsen Ayadi, Youssef Trifa, Walid Hamada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329619
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author Maissa Ben-Jabeur
Zayneb Kthiri
Salma Jallouli
Kalthoum Harbaoui
Zoubeir Chamekh
Sawsen Ayadi
Youssef Trifa
Walid Hamada
author_facet Maissa Ben-Jabeur
Zayneb Kthiri
Salma Jallouli
Kalthoum Harbaoui
Zoubeir Chamekh
Sawsen Ayadi
Youssef Trifa
Walid Hamada
author_sort Maissa Ben-Jabeur
collection DOAJ
description Despite the significant increase in the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) in agriculture, there is a dearth of studies addressing the impact of seed coating with PGPB on plant productivity. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the potential of Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent to confer plant growth promotion and tolerance against biotic and abiotic stress. The whole-genome sequencing of strain B7 was also performed to study its genomic features. The effect of seed coating with strain B7 was assessed on seed water uptake, germination and seedling dry weight under controlled conditions. Besides, the direct and indirect effect against biotic stress was evaluated through antifungal activity and potential in stimulating the induced systemic resistance (ISR) under controlled conditions. Afterwards, the effect was evaluated in the field under drought stress conditions, based on the traits of grain yield (GY), straw yield, number of spikes/m2, and thousand kernel weight (TKW). It is noticeable that seed coating with strain B7 resulted in greater and faster water uptake. Germination and plant growth similarly boosted. Strain B7 was able to hamper the mycelial growth of F. culmorum and S. sclerotiorum and to induce ISR, after B. cinerea infection, in melon leaves taken from root-treated plants. In the field, seed coating with strain B7 improved wheat performance under the different environments and mitigated the effect of drought on spikes/m2, GY and TKW. The observed impact on wheat plants is supported by genomic analysis of strain B7 showing the presence of genes related to beneficial plant-bacteria interactions involved in plant colonization, growth promotion and alleviation of stress. Therefore, B. safensis strain B7 has promising applications in the seed treatment industry to increase plant yield and alleviate the impact of stress.
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spelling doaj-art-22b35d28bbd24ad3b656e90b3da8f9b72025-08-23T05:32:35ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01208e032961910.1371/journal.pone.0329619Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.Maissa Ben-JabeurZayneb KthiriSalma JallouliKalthoum HarbaouiZoubeir ChamekhSawsen AyadiYoussef TrifaWalid HamadaDespite the significant increase in the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) in agriculture, there is a dearth of studies addressing the impact of seed coating with PGPB on plant productivity. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the potential of Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent to confer plant growth promotion and tolerance against biotic and abiotic stress. The whole-genome sequencing of strain B7 was also performed to study its genomic features. The effect of seed coating with strain B7 was assessed on seed water uptake, germination and seedling dry weight under controlled conditions. Besides, the direct and indirect effect against biotic stress was evaluated through antifungal activity and potential in stimulating the induced systemic resistance (ISR) under controlled conditions. Afterwards, the effect was evaluated in the field under drought stress conditions, based on the traits of grain yield (GY), straw yield, number of spikes/m2, and thousand kernel weight (TKW). It is noticeable that seed coating with strain B7 resulted in greater and faster water uptake. Germination and plant growth similarly boosted. Strain B7 was able to hamper the mycelial growth of F. culmorum and S. sclerotiorum and to induce ISR, after B. cinerea infection, in melon leaves taken from root-treated plants. In the field, seed coating with strain B7 improved wheat performance under the different environments and mitigated the effect of drought on spikes/m2, GY and TKW. The observed impact on wheat plants is supported by genomic analysis of strain B7 showing the presence of genes related to beneficial plant-bacteria interactions involved in plant colonization, growth promotion and alleviation of stress. Therefore, B. safensis strain B7 has promising applications in the seed treatment industry to increase plant yield and alleviate the impact of stress.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329619
spellingShingle Maissa Ben-Jabeur
Zayneb Kthiri
Salma Jallouli
Kalthoum Harbaoui
Zoubeir Chamekh
Sawsen Ayadi
Youssef Trifa
Walid Hamada
Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.
PLoS ONE
title Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.
title_full Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.
title_fullStr Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.
title_full_unstemmed Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.
title_short Genome-driven insights into Bacillus safensis strain B7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses.
title_sort genome driven insights into bacillus safensis strain b7 as a seed coating agent for plant growth promotion and alleviation of biotic and abiotic stresses
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329619
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