Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress

Abstract Background Cotton is considered moderately salt-tolerant, yet the degree of tolerance can vary significantly among different genotypes. Methods and results The current study examined the effects of plant growth-promoting bacterium “Achromobacter sp. FB-14” in two cotton genotypes (FH-326 an...

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Main Authors: Sidra Batool, Khadija Rafiq, Muhammad Saeed, Atyia Naeem, Muhammad Shahid Munir Chohan, Muhammad Sohail Akram
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Plant Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-07183-5
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author Sidra Batool
Khadija Rafiq
Muhammad Saeed
Atyia Naeem
Muhammad Shahid Munir Chohan
Muhammad Sohail Akram
author_facet Sidra Batool
Khadija Rafiq
Muhammad Saeed
Atyia Naeem
Muhammad Shahid Munir Chohan
Muhammad Sohail Akram
author_sort Sidra Batool
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Cotton is considered moderately salt-tolerant, yet the degree of tolerance can vary significantly among different genotypes. Methods and results The current study examined the effects of plant growth-promoting bacterium “Achromobacter sp. FB-14” in two cotton genotypes (FH-326 and FH-941). Under 150 mM salt stress, FH-941 showed a higher accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) i.e. 24.4 and 8.20 µmol g− 1 FW, respectively. Contrarily, FH-326 exhibited higher catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities (48.82 & 27.81 Umg− 1 protein, respectively). FB-14 inoculated plants exhibited an increase in chlorophyll a content by 10% (FH-326) and 8% (FH-941). FH-326 exhibited better ion (Na+, K+, Ca+ 2, Mg+ 2) uptake and root-shoot translocation patterns than FH-941. Imposition of salt stress, without FB-14 inoculation, resulted in higher reduction in NHX1, SOS1, and HAK5 gene expression in FH-941 compared to FH-326. While elevated expression of HKT1 was recorded in FH-326 compared to FH-941. A down-regulation of LHCB, GhWRKY3 and GhWRKY34 was recorded in both genotypes except GhWRKY34 was up-regulated in FH-326. Additionally, FB-14 inoculation in FH-941, under salt stress, led to up-regulation of LHCB and GhWRKY3 and GhWRKY34. Conclusions The FH-326 maintained optimum H2O2 and MDA content through POD/CAT activities, balanced ion uptake and gene regulation. The growth of salt-sensitive FH-941 was facilitated by FB-14 inoculation through modulated patterns of ion homeostasis, expression of ion transporter and transcription factors. Further studies involving more cotton genotypes and salt-related molecular markers under bacterial inoculation may assist in devising better strategies to achieve potential yield of cotton.
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spelling doaj-art-e2016b5ad0b74c23ba51322e25eff56c2025-08-24T11:16:54ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-08-0125111710.1186/s12870-025-07183-5Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stressSidra Batool0Khadija Rafiq1Muhammad Saeed2Atyia Naeem3Muhammad Shahid Munir Chohan4Muhammad Sohail Akram5Department of Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College UniversityDepartment of Botany, University of GujratDepartment of Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College UniversityDepartment of Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College UniversityCotton Research Station, Ayub Agricultural Research InstituteDepartment of Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College UniversityAbstract Background Cotton is considered moderately salt-tolerant, yet the degree of tolerance can vary significantly among different genotypes. Methods and results The current study examined the effects of plant growth-promoting bacterium “Achromobacter sp. FB-14” in two cotton genotypes (FH-326 and FH-941). Under 150 mM salt stress, FH-941 showed a higher accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) i.e. 24.4 and 8.20 µmol g− 1 FW, respectively. Contrarily, FH-326 exhibited higher catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities (48.82 & 27.81 Umg− 1 protein, respectively). FB-14 inoculated plants exhibited an increase in chlorophyll a content by 10% (FH-326) and 8% (FH-941). FH-326 exhibited better ion (Na+, K+, Ca+ 2, Mg+ 2) uptake and root-shoot translocation patterns than FH-941. Imposition of salt stress, without FB-14 inoculation, resulted in higher reduction in NHX1, SOS1, and HAK5 gene expression in FH-941 compared to FH-326. While elevated expression of HKT1 was recorded in FH-326 compared to FH-941. A down-regulation of LHCB, GhWRKY3 and GhWRKY34 was recorded in both genotypes except GhWRKY34 was up-regulated in FH-326. Additionally, FB-14 inoculation in FH-941, under salt stress, led to up-regulation of LHCB and GhWRKY3 and GhWRKY34. Conclusions The FH-326 maintained optimum H2O2 and MDA content through POD/CAT activities, balanced ion uptake and gene regulation. The growth of salt-sensitive FH-941 was facilitated by FB-14 inoculation through modulated patterns of ion homeostasis, expression of ion transporter and transcription factors. Further studies involving more cotton genotypes and salt-related molecular markers under bacterial inoculation may assist in devising better strategies to achieve potential yield of cotton.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-07183-5Ion transportersPlant growth promoting rhizobacteriaReactive oxygen speciesSalinityWRKY transcription factors
spellingShingle Sidra Batool
Khadija Rafiq
Muhammad Saeed
Atyia Naeem
Muhammad Shahid Munir Chohan
Muhammad Sohail Akram
Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress
BMC Plant Biology
Ion transporters
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
Reactive oxygen species
Salinity
WRKY transcription factors
title Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress
title_full Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress
title_fullStr Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress
title_full_unstemmed Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress
title_short Achromobacter sp. FB-14 mediated morpho-physio-biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress
title_sort achromobacter sp fb 14 mediated morpho physio biochemical and molecular improvements in cotton subjected to salt stress
topic Ion transporters
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
Reactive oxygen species
Salinity
WRKY transcription factors
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-07183-5
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