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Co-inoculation Effects of Rhizobium sullae and Pseudomonas sp. on Growth, Antioxidant Status, and Expression Pattern of Genes Associated with Heavy Metal Tolerance and Accumulation of Cadmium in Sulla coronaria

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Abstract

Recently, phytoremediation assisted by soil bacteria has emerged as a potential tool to clean up the metal-contaminated/polluted environment. Three plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPBs): Rhizobium sullae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Pseudomonas sp. were found to tolerate cadmium (Cd) stress. Sulla coronaria inoculated with these PGPBs, and grown under different Cd concentrations (0, 100, and 200 µM), showed increases in dry biomass and proline content. Notable increases in different gas-exchange characteristics such as photosynthesis rate (A), transpiration rate (E), and water-use efficiency (WUE), as well as increases in nitrogen (N) and Cd accumulations were also recorded in inoculated plants compared to non-inoculated Cd stressed plants. The activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (GPOX), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in S. coronaria roots increased under Cd stress after PGPB co-inoculation, suggesting that these PGPB species could be used for amelioration of stress tolerance in S. coronaria. The expression patterns of ScPCS, ScMT, ScF-box, ScGR, and ScGST in roots of S. coronaria indicated that these genes are differentially expressed under Cd treatments, suggesting their possible roles in Cd and heavy metal stress responses. The results indicate that co-inoculation with R. sullae and Pseudomonas sp. could alleviate Cd toxicity in S. coronaria. In the present study, the obtained data suggest that the application of PGPBs could be a promising strategy for enhancing the phytostabilization efficiency of Cd-contaminated soils.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

DAS:

Days after sowing

DW:

Dry weight

EDTA:

Ethylene diamine tetra-acetic

FAAS:

Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer

FW:

Fresh weight

IAA:

Indole acetic acid

ICP–MS:

Inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry

GSH:

Gluthatione

GSSG:

Gluthatione disulfure

GPOX:

Guaiacol peroxidase

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

NBT:

Nitroblue tetrazolium

PGPB:

Plant-growth-promoting bacteria

PGPR:

Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria

PMSF:

Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride

PVP:

Polyvinylpyrrolidone

RDW:

Root dry weight

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SDW:

Shoot dry weight

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

TCA:

Trichloroacetic acid

YEM:

Yeast extract medium

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Dr Yordan Muhovski, PhD (Walloon Agricultural Research Centre CRA-W Department of Life Sciences. Gembloux, Belgium) for English edition; the Laboratory of Legumes, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria (CBBC); and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for securing the funding of this work.

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  1. Laboratoire des Légumineuses, University Tunis El Manar, Centre de Biotechnologie Borj Cedria, BP 901, 2050, Hammam Lif, Tunisia

    Manel Chiboub, Salwa Harzalli Jebara, Ghassen Abid & Moez Jebara

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Chiboub, M., Jebara, S.H., Abid, G. et al. Co-inoculation Effects of Rhizobium sullae and Pseudomonas sp. on Growth, Antioxidant Status, and Expression Pattern of Genes Associated with Heavy Metal Tolerance and Accumulation of Cadmium in Sulla coronaria. J Plant Growth Regul 39, 216–228 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-019-09976-z

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