Improving plant salt tolerance through Algoriphagus halophytocola sp. nov., isolated from the halophyte Salicornia europaea

Abstract

Salicornia europaea, commonly known as glasswort, thrives in reclaimed land and coastal areas with high salinity, demonstrating remarkable adaptation to the arid conditions of such environments. Two aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterial strains, designated TR-M5T and TR-M9, were isolated from the root of Salicornia europaea plants. These bacteria exhibit plant growth-promoting and salt tolerance-enhancing abilities, which have not been reported in other species of the genus. Both strains produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a plant growth hormone, and synthesize proline, which functions as an osmoprotectant. Additionally, they possess gelatinase and cellulase activities. Cells grow in temperatures from 4 to 42°C (optimum 25°C), pH levels from 6.0 to 9.0 (optimum 7.0), and NaCl concentrations from 0 to 8.0% (optimum 6.0%). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values of strain TR-M5T with the most closely related type strains for which whole genomes are publicly available were 74.05-77.78% and 18.6-23.1%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains TR-M5T and TR-M9 belong to the genus Algoriphagus. A. locisalis exhibited the highest similarity, sharing a sequence identity of 98.1%. The genomes of TR-M5T and TR-M9 exhibit a G + C content of 43 mol%. This study specifically focuses on the identification and characterization of strain TR-M5T as a novel species within the genus Algoriphagus, which we propose to name Algoriphagus halophytocola sp. nov., highlighting its potential role in enhancing plant growth and salt tolerance in saline environments. The type strain is TR-M5T (KCTC 92720T = GDMCC 1.3797T).