Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community

Abstract Background Soil salinity is a global issue threatening crop growth and yield. Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPB) can survive in high-salinity environments and help plants adapt to stress, thus serving as an effective measure to mitigate salt stress. Results In this st...

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Main Authors: Jiang Liu, Xinghua Zhao, Yuqi Niu, Yongkang Ren, Ming Wang, Bin Han, Changbiao Wang, Haizhen Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:BMC Plant Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06765-7
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author Jiang Liu
Xinghua Zhao
Yuqi Niu
Yongkang Ren
Ming Wang
Bin Han
Changbiao Wang
Haizhen Ma
author_facet Jiang Liu
Xinghua Zhao
Yuqi Niu
Yongkang Ren
Ming Wang
Bin Han
Changbiao Wang
Haizhen Ma
author_sort Jiang Liu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Soil salinity is a global issue threatening crop growth and yield. Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPB) can survive in high-salinity environments and help plants adapt to stress, thus serving as an effective measure to mitigate salt stress. Results In this study, a salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting bacterium, Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 (M23), was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of the salt-tolerant plant Suaeda salsa. This study characterized the effects of M23 on maize growth, salt stress response, and the composition and structure of rhizosphere soil microorganisms, and preliminary explained the mechanism by which M23 enhances maize salt tolerance. M23 can tolerate up to 14% NaCl, produce auxin, and exhibit the ability to absorb Na+ and accumulate K+ under salt stress. This study also measured amino acid production by M23 under different salinity conditions and found that M23 could mainly produce glutamic acid (Glu), glutamine, proline, and lysine, with their contents significantly increasing as salinity rises. Inoculating maize with M23 enhances the salt tolerance by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, improving the antioxidant levels, and regulating its ABA levels in maize. Additionally, inoculating with strain M23 not only increases soil diversity but also alters the composition of bacterial communities in the maize rhizosphere soil. Most species were significantly enriched in saline soil treated with M23 at the phylum level. At the genus level, some salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting bacteria such as Bryobacter, Nocardioides, and Micromonosporaceae were also significantly enriched. Conclusions Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 could promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community. This study demonstrates that M23 has great potential in promoting plant growth in saline-alkali soils.
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spelling doaj-art-397cc4311b7341c79fb29b4649be3b832025-08-20T03:22:07ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-05-0125111510.1186/s12870-025-06765-7Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial communityJiang Liu0Xinghua Zhao1Yuqi Niu2Yongkang Ren3Ming Wang4Bin Han5Changbiao Wang6Haizhen Ma7College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural UniversityCollege of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural UniversityCollege of Life Science, Shanxi Agricultural UniversityCollege of Life Science, Shanxi Agricultural UniversityCollege of Life Science, Shanxi Agricultural UniversityQilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences)Abstract Background Soil salinity is a global issue threatening crop growth and yield. Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPB) can survive in high-salinity environments and help plants adapt to stress, thus serving as an effective measure to mitigate salt stress. Results In this study, a salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting bacterium, Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 (M23), was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of the salt-tolerant plant Suaeda salsa. This study characterized the effects of M23 on maize growth, salt stress response, and the composition and structure of rhizosphere soil microorganisms, and preliminary explained the mechanism by which M23 enhances maize salt tolerance. M23 can tolerate up to 14% NaCl, produce auxin, and exhibit the ability to absorb Na+ and accumulate K+ under salt stress. This study also measured amino acid production by M23 under different salinity conditions and found that M23 could mainly produce glutamic acid (Glu), glutamine, proline, and lysine, with their contents significantly increasing as salinity rises. Inoculating maize with M23 enhances the salt tolerance by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, improving the antioxidant levels, and regulating its ABA levels in maize. Additionally, inoculating with strain M23 not only increases soil diversity but also alters the composition of bacterial communities in the maize rhizosphere soil. Most species were significantly enriched in saline soil treated with M23 at the phylum level. At the genus level, some salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting bacteria such as Bryobacter, Nocardioides, and Micromonosporaceae were also significantly enriched. Conclusions Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 could promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community. This study demonstrates that M23 has great potential in promoting plant growth in saline-alkali soils.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06765-7Plant growth promoting bacteriaHalomonas alkaliantarcticae M23MaizeRhizosphere bacterial community
spellingShingle Jiang Liu
Xinghua Zhao
Yuqi Niu
Yongkang Ren
Ming Wang
Bin Han
Changbiao Wang
Haizhen Ma
Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community
BMC Plant Biology
Plant growth promoting bacteria
Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23
Maize
Rhizosphere bacterial community
title Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community
title_full Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community
title_fullStr Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community
title_full_unstemmed Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community
title_short Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio, antioxidant levels, and ABA levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community
title_sort plant growth promoting rhizobacteria halomonas alkaliantarcticae m23 promotes the salt tolerance of maize by increasing the k na ratio antioxidant levels and aba levels and changing the rhizosphere bacterial community
topic Plant growth promoting bacteria
Halomonas alkaliantarcticae M23
Maize
Rhizosphere bacterial community
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06765-7
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