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Isolation and Screening of Zn (Zn) Solubilizing Rhizosphere Bacteria from Different Vegetations for Their Ability to Improve Growth, Zn Uptake, and Expression of Zn Transporter Genes in Tomato

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Abstract

Zinc-solubilizing bacteria (ZSB) can convert insoluble zinc to an accessible form and increase Zn bioavailability in soil, which helps mitigate Zn deficiency in crops. In this study, different bacterial strains were screened for different Zn solubilization and plant growth promotion traits. Two bacterial strains, Acinetobacter pittii DJ55 and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia DJ24, were tested for their Zn-solubilizing potential on plate media, and both showed variable levels of Zn solubilization. The results showed that the bacterial strains applied to the plants in the pot experiment caused improvements in growth parameters compared to control conditions. DJ55, when applied with an insoluble source, enhanced plant height, leaf number, and leaf area compared to DJ24 and control conditions, while the maximum fruit weight was noticed in plants treated with ZnSO4. An increase in chlorophyll contents was noted in plants treated with ZnSO4, while maximum carotenoid contents were observed in plants treated with DJ55 + ZnO when compared with their controls. Plants supplemented with ZnO and DJ55 showed higher zinc content and iron content as compared to their respective controls. The expression patterns of the SLZIP5 and SLZIP4 genes were changed in the root and shoot. Application of ZnO stimulates both gene expression and protein synthesis in tomato roots and shoots. Inoculation of tomato plants with ZSB and insoluble ZnO reduced the expression of the SLZIP5 and SLZIP4 genes in the root and shoot. In conclusion, both strains can be considered as potential zinc-solubilizing bioinoculants to promote the growth and production yield of tomato.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/OR335752.1?report=GenBank, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/OR335753.1?report=GenBank.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan for providing support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar, KP, Pakistan

    Attequr Rahman, Mian Afaq Ahmad, Shiraz Mehmood, Abdur Rauf, Aqib Iqbal, Bakhtiar Ali, Mohib Ullah, Murad Ali & Israr Uddin

  2. Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Shiraz Mehmood

  3. Biological and Geological Sciences Department, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11341, Egypt

    Heba I. Mohamed

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  1. Attequr Rahman
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AR, MAA, SM, AR, AI, BA, MU, MA, HIM, and IU contributed toward conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft preparation, writing review, and editing.

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Correspondence to Mian Afaq Ahmad or Heba I. Mohamed.

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Rahman, A., Ahmad, M.A., Mehmood, S. et al. Isolation and Screening of Zn (Zn) Solubilizing Rhizosphere Bacteria from Different Vegetations for Their Ability to Improve Growth, Zn Uptake, and Expression of Zn Transporter Genes in Tomato. Curr Microbiol 81, 83 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-023-03610-8

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