A co-inoculation of rhizobacterial strains improve water stress tolerance in red rice

Izamara Oliveira1, Isabela Almeida1, Vitória Lima1, Katyanne Pereira2, Carlos Meneses1,2*
1
Biology Department – Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB) – Campina Grande/PB 58429-
500, Brazil
2
Graduate Program in Agricultural Sciences – Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB) –
Campina Grande/PB 58429-500, Brazil

*Corresponding Author e-mail: carlos.meneses@pq.cnpq.br

Key-words: Bio‐formulations, PGPR, Drought stress

During the rice life cycle, plants are continuously challenged by several abiotic stresses, which are
considered to be the main cause of reduced plant growth and yield. Plant growth promoting
rhizobacteria (PGPR) induce physical and chemical changes in plants, resulting in enhanced plant
tolerance to abiotic stresses. This trait support the selection of PGPR as a valuable approach for
improving plant growth, particularly under stress conditions. The combination of several PGPR can
elicit improved stress tolerance compared to PGPR alone. In this study, a co-inoculation of
Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus PAL5 and Herbaspirilum seropedicae SmR1 rhizobacterias was
performed in order to investigate drought stress tolerance in red rice plants. Plants inoculated with
G. diazotrophicus PAL5, H. seropedicae SmR1, G. diazotrophicus PAL5 co-inoculated with H.
seropedicae SmR1 and the control not treated ones were submitted to four soil moisture
conditions: 30%, 50%, 70% and 100% of field capacity. After withholding watering for 15 days,
analysis were carried out with Ethylene-responsive transcription factor 4 (OsAP37) and Drought-
Induced lipid transfer protein (OsDIL) genes using qPCR. Red rice plants treated with G.
diazotrophicus PAL5 and H. seropedicae SmR1 showed 100% survival. Compared to the other
treatments, expression of OsAP37 and OsDIL genes was significantly up‐regulated when the plant
was inoculated with both bacteria, suggesting that these genes are important in abiotic stress
tolerance of red rice. This study indicates that G. diazotrophicus PAL5 and H. seropedicae SmR1
bio‐formulations can be used to confer induced systematic tolerance and improve health of red rice
plants under drought stress.

Funding Agency: CNPq, CAPES and PROPESQ-UEPB