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The nematicide Serratia plymuthica M24T3 colonizes Arabidopsis thaliana, stimulates plant growth, and presents plant beneficial potential

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Abstract

Nine bacterial strains were previously isolated in association with pinewood nematode (PWN) from wilted pine trees. They proved to be nematicidal in vitro, and one of the highest activities, with potential to control PWN, was showed by Serratia sp. M24T3. Its ecology in association with plants remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of strain M24T3 to colonize the internal tissues of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana using confocal microscopy. Plant growth–promoting bacteria (PGPB) functional traits were tested and retrieved in the genome of strain M24T3. In greenhouse conditions, the bacterial effects of all nematicidal strains were also evaluated, co-inoculated or not with Bradyrhizobium sp. 3267, on Vigna unguiculata fitness. Inoculation of strain M24T3 increased the number of A. thaliana lateral roots and the confocal analysis confirmed effective bacterial colonization in the plant. Strain M24T3 showed cellulolytic activity, siderophores production, phosphate and zinc solubilization ability, and indole acetic acid production independent of supplementation with l-tryptophan. In the genome of strain M24T3, genes involved in the interaction with the plants such as 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, chitinolytic activity, and quorum sensing were also detected. The genomic organization showed ACC deaminase and its leucine-responsive transcriptional regulator, and the activity of ACC deaminase was 594.6 nmol α-ketobutyrate μg protein−1 μl−1. Strain M24T3 in co-inoculation with Bradyrhizobium sp. 3267 promoted the growth of V. unguiculata. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the ability of strain M24T3 to colonize other plants besides pine trees as an endophyte and displays PGPB traits that probably increased plant tolerance to stresses.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Grasiella Ventura Matioszek, Unidade Multiusuária de Microscopia Confocal—ICB/UFRJ for support on CSLM. We thank Jakson Leite for his support on cowpea assays. We thank Tiago Natal da Luz for his help with statistical analysis.

Funding statement

This work was financed by FEDER funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade—COMPETE and by national funds through the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, under the projects UID/EMS/00285/2013 and PTDC/AGR-CFL/115373/2009, and Programa CNPq/Universidade de Coimbra/Associação Grupo de Coimbra de Dirigentes de Universidades Brasileiras—2010, process no. 590041/2010-0.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology of CEMMPRE, University of Coimbra, Rua Luis Reis Santos, 3030-788, Coimbra, Portugal

    Diogo Neves Proença

  2. Embrapa Agrobiology, Rodovia BR-465, Km 7, Seropédica, RJ, 23891-000, Brazil

    Stefan Schwab, Márcia Soares Vidal, José Ivo Baldani & Gustavo Ribeiro Xavier

  3. Department of Life Sciences and Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology of CEMMPRE, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3030-788, Coimbra, Portugal

    Paula V. Morais

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Fig. S1

Alignment of sequences showed differences between ACC deaminases and D-cysteine desulfhydrase. The sequences were aligned with CLUSTALW and it was verified the presence of the amino acids Glu295 and Leu322 at the active site confirming them as ACC deaminase or Thr at the both active sites confirming them as D-cysteine desulfhydrase. Serratia sp. M24T3 showed sequence of ACC deaminase whereas the most common sequences of the strains in the genus Serratia are D-cysteine desulfhydrases. (PNG 42557 kb)

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Proença, D.N., Schwab, S., Vidal, M.S. et al. The nematicide Serratia plymuthica M24T3 colonizes Arabidopsis thaliana, stimulates plant growth, and presents plant beneficial potential. Braz J Microbiol 50, 777–789 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-019-00098-y

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