Screening and Characterization of Plant
Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria with Nitrogen-Fixing Ability from Tea Plants in
Yigong

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Screening and Characterization of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria with Nitrogen-Fixing Ability from Tea Plants in Yigong

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Abstract

This study aimed to isolate and screen elite nitrogen-fixing bacterial strains with multiple plant growth-promoting (PGPR) traits from the rhizosphere of tea plants in the high-altitude Yigong tea area of Tibet, identify their phylogenetic positions, and evaluate their application potential, so as to provide resources and a theoretical basis for developing specialized microbial inoculants for high-altitude tea plantations. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria were isolated using the dilution plate method with Ashby's nitrogen-free medium. Nitrogenase activities of the strains were measured by the acetylene reduction assay. Strain identification was based on morphological, physiological, biochemical characteristics and 16 S rDNA sequence analysis. The abilities of the strains to solubilize phosphate, release potassium, produce siderophores, synthesize indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), as well as their salt tolerance were further determined. Pot experiments using tea plants (the host plants), maize and rapeseed were conducted to verify the practical growth-promoting effects of the strains. The results show that ten nitrogen-fixing bacterial strains were isolated and screened from the tea rhizosphere soil, exhibiting nitrogenase activities ranging from 20.06 to 23.71 nmol·mg^-1·h^-1. The strains MZ-4-74, SC-5-67, MZ-2-5 and FX-2-86 were Serratia odorifera. The strains FX-3-48, FX-4-31, FX-4-73 and MZ-3-16 were Serratia fonticola. The strains FX-2-66 and FX-3-66 were Pseudomonas koreensis and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, respectively. Functional characterization reveals that all 10 strains could solubilize potassium, 8 strains possessed phosphate solubilizing ability, 9 strains could produce siderophores, and 7 strains could synthesize IAA. Among them, FX-3-48, FX-2-86 and SC-5-67 exhibited strong salt tolerance. The pot experiment results demonstrate that inoculation with all strains significantly promoted the growth of tea, maize and rapeseed seedlings. The FX-3-48 treatment shows the most pronounced effect, increasing the fresh weight, stem diameter, plant height, and root length of tea seedlings by 330.77%, 61.54%, 86.09%, and 94.53%, respectively, compared to the CK control. The rhizosphere of tea plants in Yigong in Xizang area harbors abundant nitrogen-fixing bacterial resources with multiple plant growth-promoting functions. The screened strains exhibit significant potential for development into microbial inoculants, holding great importance for promoting green production in high-altitude tea plantations.

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XUE Xiaofan¹, MA Xiaodan¹, TAO Ao¹, XIAO Ying¹, WANG Zhenhong¹, GONG Wenfeng², WEI Liping¹. Screening and Characterization of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria with Nitrogen-Fixing Ability from Tea Plants in Yigong[J]. Journal of Tea Science. 0

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