Open Access

ARTICLE

Characterization of Endophytic Microorganisms of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Potentials for Blast Disease Biocontrol and Plant Growth Promoting Agents

Shugufta Parveen¹, Fayaz A. Mohiddin^2,*, M. Ashraf Bhat³, Zahoor Ahmed Baba⁴, Fehim Jeelani⁵, M. Anwar Bhat⁶, Sajad Un Nabi⁷, Burhan Hamid², Saba Bandey⁸, Farhanaz Rasool⁹, Zakir Amin¹, Ibrahim Al-Ashkar^10,*, Muhammad Adnan¹¹, Ayman El Sabagh¹²

1 Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, India
2 Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops, SKUAST-Kashmir, Khudwani, India
3 Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, India
4 Division of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, India
5 Division of Statistics, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, India
6 Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, India
7 Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central institute of Temperate Horticulture (ICAR-CITH), Old Airport, Rangreth, Srinagar, India
8 Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Horticulture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, India
9 Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, India
10 Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
11 College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
12 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kafrelsheikh, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt

* Corresponding Authors: Fayaz A. Mohiddin. Email: ; Ibrahim Al-Ashkar. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(11), 3021-3041. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2023.030921

Received 03 May 2023; Accepted 14 August 2023; Issue published 24 October 2023

Abstract

One hundred twenty-five endophytic microorganisms were isolated from the roots, stems, and leaves of four prominent rice cultivars growing in temperate regions. Their potential to combat rice blast disease and promote plant growth was investigated. The dual culture tests highlighted the strong antagonistic activity of five fungal (ranging from 89%–70%) and five bacterial (72%–61%) endophytes. Subsequent examination focused on volatile compounds produced by selected isolates to counter the blast pathogen. Among these, the highest chitinase (13.76 µg mL⁻¹) and siderophore (56.64%), was exhibited by Aspergillus flavus, and the highest HCN production was shown by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (36.15 µM mL⁻¹). In terms of growth promotion traits, Aspergillus flavus and Enterobacter cloacae excelled in activities viz, phosphorous solubilization, ammonia production, auxin and gibberellic acid production, and nitrogen fixation. The Identity of these endophytes was confirmed through molecular analysis as Trichoderma afroharzianum, Trichoderma harzianum, Penicillium rubens, Aspergillus flavus, Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter cloacae, and Bacillus licheniformis. Under greenhouse conditions, the highest disease control was shown by isolate Bacillus licheniformis and A. flavus with an inhibition of 79%, followed by S. rhizophila (77%) and T. afroharzianum (73%). The overall results of this study showed that Bacillus licheniformis and Stenotrophomonas rhizophila have great potential to be used as bio-stimulant and biocontrol agents to manage rice blast disease.

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Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

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