Molecular Identification of Some Rhizobium and Serratia Isolates as Potential Producers of Indole-3-Acetic Acid

Abstract

In order to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers, the use of biological inoculants has been increased. Beneficial microorganisms are used to increase crop yields by stimulating plant growth through the production of phytohormones. In the present study, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) production was analyzed in 18 bacterial isolates with Plant Growth-Promoting (PGP) capabilities; 15 of these isolates were Rhizobium, and three were Serratia. All isolates have been characterized morphologically and biochemically, and their IAA production in the presence of tryptophan, a precursor for IAA biosynthesis, has been evaluated. IAA production was detected using the Salkowski reagent with CT-2200 spectrophotometer at 530 nm. The levels of IAA production varied between the different isolates. The top two IAA producers were selected for genetic identification using 16SrRNA primers (27F and 1492R). One of the Rhizobium isolates (NRC-R2) shared 95% sequence similarity with Rhizobium sp., according to a Blastn search in GenBank and Rhizobium leguminosarum, whereas the Serratia isolate (Ain Shams Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ACGEB)-S2 was 99.5% similar to Serratia sp. Accordingly, these two isolates could serve as biological sources for IAA.

Keywords

• rhizobium
• serratia
• phytohormones
• pgpr
• indole-3-acetic acid (iaa)