Screening and Evaluation of Plant-Beneficial Endospore-Forming Bacteria in the Bacillus Group for Plant Growth Promotion and Biocontrol
Keywords:
Bacillus, Plant growth-promoting bacteria, Phosphate solubilization, Enzyme, Antagonistic activityAbstract
The objective of this research was to select and evaluate the properties of plant growth-promoting bacteria. Preliminary safety, phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, enzyme production, phytohormone production, and antagonistic activity against plant pathogens were evaluated. The results revealed that 17 bacterial isolates demonstrated preliminary safety with no hemolytic activity. Most isolates were capable of solubilizing phosphate, with the exception of isolate L2-9, whereas nitrogen fixation was not detected in any of the isolates. Regarding enzyme production, almost all isolates produced protease and amylase, except for H2-2 and L2-9, which lacked amylase production. Lipase activity was detected in four isolates, namely C4-2, C6-2, E2-1, and L2-9, while cellulase activity was observed in various isolates. For plant pathogen inhibition, isolates G4-1 and K2-5 exhibited effective antagonistic activity against several fungal pathogens as well as the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis. In addition, isolate J2-3 demonstrated the highest production of gibberellic acid (GA₃) at 19.49 µg/ml, and B2-2.2 produced the highest concentration of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at 8.83 µg/ml. Based on the comprehensive evaluation, eight high-potential isolates were selected, including B2-2.2, C6-2, E2-1, G4-1, I2-3.1, J2-3, K2-5, and P2-2.2, which were identified as Priestia aryabhattai, Bacillus licheniformis, B. haynesii, B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, B. sonorensis, B. velezensis, and B. licheniformis, respectively. These findings suggest that these bacterial isolates hold strong potential for development as bio-inoculants to promote plant growth and control plant diseases, thereby contributing to sustainable agricultural systems in the future.
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