Alleviation of salt stress in winter wheat by Pantoea spp. endophytes isolated from spontaneous desert plants of the Sahara

Abstract

To develop bio-fertilizers for salt stress mitigation in winter wheat, 5 Pantoea spp. strains isolated from spontaneous plants of the Algerian Sahara were selected and identified based on the 16S rRNA gene, and distinguished at "strain" level by the IGS sequences. A plant test (greenhouse condition, non-sterile substrate) showed their effectiveness in promoting the growth of winter wheat cv. Gold Korn, under normal and saline conditions. An improvement of shoot length (no stress: up to +37.34% for Pantoea sp. BS27; salt stress at 200 mM: up to +32.95% for Pantoea sp. BS27) and dry weight (no stress: up to +23.89% for Pantoea sp. OT18; salt stress at 100 mM: up to +56.42 % for Pantoea sp. ME3; salt stress at 200 mM: up to 39.18% for Pantoea sp. OT18) was recorded. We suggest the Pantoea spp. strains ME3, OT37, and OT18 as promising inocula for yield improvement in salt-impacted soils.