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Soil inoculation with Burkholderia sp. LD-11 has positive effect on water-use efficiency in inbred lines of maize

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Abstract

Background and aims

Plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can promote plant performance under water deficit, but the physiology and biochemistry of the promoting process induced by PGPR under different water deficits is not well known in maize (Zea mays L).

Methods

A glasshouse study was conducted to determine the effects of Burkholderia sp. LD-11 on morphophysiological traits for plant growth and homeostasis between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant enzymes under five regimens in two maize inbred lines.

Results

Soil inoculation with Burkholderia sp. LD-11 promoted biomass accumulation and improved instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUEi), regardless of the soil water availability. It also triggered production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), decreasing the accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA) induced by the water deficit, alleviated ROS accumulation, and resulted in a reduction in lipid peroxidation induced by the water deficits. Soil inoculation also enhanced the tolerance to water deficit through reducing stomatal aperture by increasing the sensitivity of stomatal conductance (g s) to small changes in ABA concentration in the leaves.

Conclusions

Soil inoculation with Burkholderia sp. LD-11 enhanced root systems and WUEi, offering a potential avenue for improving maize tolerance to water deficit.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ACC:

1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid

CAT:

Catalase

g s :

Stomatal conductance

IAA:

Indole-3-acetic acid

LWP:

Leaf water potential

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

PFC:

Pot soil water capacity

PGPR:

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria

Pn :

Net leaf photosynthetic rate

POD:

Peroxidase

PPFD:

Photosynthetic photon flux density

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

SWC:

Soil water content

Tr :

Transpiration rate

WUEi:

Instantaneous water-use efficiency

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate three anonymous referees for their valuable comments. We are also thankful to Dr. Yanlei Du for his comments on the manuscript and Mr. Dengfeng Dong for his experimental assistance. This research was supported by the NSFC project (31160287, 31360337), Guangxi Natural Science Foundation (2014GXNSFAA118098), and Project of the Special Basic Work of Ministry (2014FY120100).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Agricultural Bioresource in Subtropics, College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China

    Xianwei Fan, Haiyang Hu, Guiyuan Huang, Feiyan Huang & Youzhi Li

  2. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Microbial and Plant Genetic Engineering, Nanning, 530005, China

    Xianwei Fan & Youzhi Li

  3. CSIRO, Agriculture flagship, Private Bag No. 5, Wembley, WA, 6913, Australia

    Jairo Palta

  4. School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Jairo Palta

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  1. Xianwei Fan
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  2. Haiyang Hu
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  3. Guiyuan Huang
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  4. Feiyan Huang
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Correspondence to Xianwei Fan.

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Responsible Editor: Jesus Mercado-Blanco.

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Fan, X., Hu, H., Huang, G. et al. Soil inoculation with Burkholderia sp. LD-11 has positive effect on water-use efficiency in inbred lines of maize. Plant Soil 390, 337–349 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2410-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2410-z

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