<i>Bacillus cereus</i>: An Ally Against Drought in Popcorn Cultivation

Uéliton Alves de Oliveira; Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior; Samuel Henrique Kamphorst; Valter Jário de Lima; Fábio Lopes Olivares; Shahid Khan; Monique de Souza Santos; Jardel da Silva Figueiredo; Samuel Pereira da Silva; Flávia Nicácio Viana; Talles de Oliveira Santos; Gabriella Rodrigues Gonçalves; Eliemar Campostrini; Alexandre Pio Viana; Freddy Mora-Poblete

doi:10.3390/microorganisms12112351

Microorganisms (Nov 2024)

<i>Bacillus cereus</i>: An Ally Against Drought in Popcorn Cultivation

Uéliton Alves de Oliveira,
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior,
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst,
Valter Jário de Lima,
Fábio Lopes Olivares,
Shahid Khan,
Monique de Souza Santos,
Jardel da Silva Figueiredo,
Samuel Pereira da Silva,
Flávia Nicácio Viana,
Talles de Oliveira Santos,
Gabriella Rodrigues Gonçalves,
Eliemar Campostrini,
Alexandre Pio Viana,
Freddy Mora-Poblete

Affiliations

Uéliton Alves de Oliveira: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Antônio Teixeira do Amaral Junior: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Samuel Henrique Kamphorst: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Valter Jário de Lima: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Fábio Lopes Olivares: Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Shahid Khan: Faculty of Agriculture Sciences, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados (UFGD), Dourados 79800-000, MS, Brazil
Monique de Souza Santos: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Jardel da Silva Figueiredo: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Samuel Pereira da Silva: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Flávia Nicácio Viana: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Talles de Oliveira Santos: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Gabriella Rodrigues Gonçalves: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Eliemar Campostrini: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Alexandre Pio Viana: Plant Breeding Laboratory, Center for Agricultural Science and Technologies (CCTA), State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro–UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-602, RJ, Brazil
Freddy Mora-Poblete: Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Talca, Talca 34655-48, Chile

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12112351
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 11
p. 2351

Abstract

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Despite the development of adapted popcorn cultivars such as UENF WS01, strategies such as bacterial inoculation are being explored to enhance plant resilience to abiotic stress. This study investigates the impact of drought stress on popcorn cultivation. Specifically, the aim was to identify the benefits of Bacillus cereus interaction with the drought-tolerant hybrid UENF WS01 for its morphophysiology and growth by comparing inoculated and non-inoculated plants under water-stressed (WS) and well-watered (WW) conditions. This evaluation was conducted using a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement. For WS with inoculation samples, there were significant increases in relative chlorophyll content, maximum fluorescence intensity, and agronomic water use efficiency. Chlorophyll content increased by an average of 50.39% for WS samples, compared to a modest increase of 2.40% for WW samples. Both leaf and stem biomass also significantly increased for WS relative to WW conditions. Overall, B. cereus inoculation mitigated the impact of water stress, significantly enhancing the expression of physiological and morphological traits, even when paired with a drought-tolerant hybrid.

Published in Microorganisms

ISSN: 2076-2607 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Biology (General)
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganisms

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