Evaluation of the plant growth-promoting activity of Pseudomonas nitroreducens in Arabidopsis thaliana and Lactuca sativa

Abstract

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) enhance plant development through various mechanisms; they improve the uptake of soil resources by plants to greatly promote plant growth. Here, we used Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings and Lactuca sativa to screen the growth enhancement activities of a purified PGPR, Pseudomonas nitroreducens strain IHB B 13561 (PnIHB). When cocultivated with PnIHB, both species of plants exhibited notably improved growth, particularly in regard to biomass. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated high expression levels of the nitrate transporter genes, especially NRT2.1, which plays a major role in the high-affinity nitrate transport system in roots. Moreover, enhanced activity of the cyclin-B1 promoter was observed when wild-type 'Columbia-0' Arabidopsis seedlings were exposed to PnIHB, whereas upregulation of cyclin-B also occurred in the inoculated lettuce seedlings. Overall, these results suggest that PnIHB improves A. thaliana and L. sativa growth via specific pathways involved in the promotion of cell development and enhancement of nitrate uptake.