Characterization of a Salt-Tolerant Plant Growth-Promoting Streptomyces levis Strain H from the Rhizosphere Soil of Oryza sativa

Abstract

Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting (PGP) actinobacteria play an important role in enhancing plant tolerance to salinity stress and improving crop productivity. Here, 9 morphologically distinct actinobacterial isolates (A-I) were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Oryza sativa cultivated in the Nalgonda district, Telangana, screened for PGP characteristics (nitrogen fixation, indole-3-acetic acid production (IAA), and phosphate solubilisation) and salt tolerance. Among them, isolate H exhibited superior PGP activity and salt tolerance, growing in media containing up to 10% NaCl. Hence, it was selected for further work. Isolate H produced cellulase, lipase, amylase and showed a positive catalase reaction. It utilised glucose, fructose, galactose, and sucrose, but not maltose. Antibiotic susceptibility analysis indicated that isolate H was partially resistant to penicillin but sensitive to tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and vancomycin. Molecular identification based on 16S rDNA sequencing (1,356 bp) revealed that isolate H shared 99.78% sequence similarity and 99% query coverage with Streptomyces levis NBRC 15423(T), suggesting that the isolate belongs to the genus Streptomyces. Seed germination efficiency (%) revealed that the 24 hrs culture (T1) of isolate H had a significantly greater effect on rice seed germination than the 48 hrs culture (T2). The germination rate of rice seeds in T1 was 86.67%, followed by T2 (72.00%), the control (62.33%), and distilled water (55.67%), indicating that the 24 hrs grown culture of isolate H may be used to enhance rice seed germination under salt stress. This study provides preliminary evidence of the potential of a Streptomyces levis strain as a PGP bacterium under saline conditions.