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Description
Plant-microbe relations are integral to plant survival and crop productivity. Part of a plant’s biosphere are endophytes, microbes found between the cells of a plant. Endophytes can be beneficial to help a plant cope with abiotic stressors such as salinity. In Utah, our soils are high in salinity due to topography and climate. Climate change has increased soil salinity across the world, and water availability is becoming scarcer leading agriculture to use more saline sources to irrigate. Thus, salt is a concern for farmers. We aim to identify halotolerant endophytes from Ceanothus velutinus, Snowbrush which is native to the Intermountain West region of the United States and thrives in dry and semi-arid conditions. Roots were crushed and screened for bacterial growth on nutrient agar media with varying salt concentrations. Unique colonies were isolated using the streak plate method and identified by 16s rRNA sequencing. They were also tested for characteristics of nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and production of siderophore and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). From Literature review it has been found that many of our bacteria are known to be Plant-Growth Promoting Bacteria, or PGPB, including members from the genus Streptomycetes, Pseudomonas, Anthrobacter and Bacillus. The identified endophytes are currently being tested on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and will soon be tested on Zea mays (maize), and Medicago sativa (alfalfa) in the greenhouse under control and saline conditions. Growth characteristics such as biomass, stomatal conductance, net photosynthetic rate, relative water content, and electrolyte leakage will be measured and compared. Identification of a plant growth benefiting halotolerant endophyte can lead to the development of biofertilizers for saline soils, and be utilized as a tool in sustainable and productive crop production for these harsh environments.
Publication Date
12-9-2021
City
Logan, UT
Keywords
halotolerant endophytes, plant microbiome, soil salinity, plant growth
Disciplines
Plant Sciences
Recommended Citation
Hewitt, Katherine, "Identification and Isolation of Halotolerant Endophytes in Ceanothus velutinus May Lead to Plant Health in Saline Conditions" (2021). Fall Student Research Symposium 2021. 45.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2021/45