AUTHOR=Peng Yuxin , Cho Dong Hyun , Humaira Zalfa , Park Yu Lim , Kim Ki Hyun , Kim Cha Young , Lee Jiyoung 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1466733

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1466733

ISSN=1664-302X

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-M5 T and TR-M9, were isolated from the root of Salicornia europaea plants. These bacteria exhibit plant growthpromoting 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°C 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-M5 T 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-M5 T 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-M5 T and TR-M9 exhibit a G + C content of 43 mol%. This study specifically focuses on the identification and characterization of strain TR-M5 T 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.