ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbe and Virus Interactions with Plants
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1643204
Genomic and Phenotypic Profiling of an Artemisia Endophyte: Dual Biostimulant and Biocontrol Activities in Pea under Fusarium Stress
Provisionally accepted
- 1Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Akademija, Lithuania
- 2McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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Endophytic bacteria with both plant growth-promoting and disease-suppressing capabilities are valuable tools for sustainable crop production. This study presents the genomic and phenotypic profiling of Serratia sp. AR11, an endophytic strain isolated from Artemisia absinthium, evaluated for its dual functionality in pea (Pisum sativum) under normal and Fusarium-stress conditions. In controlled greenhouse trials, AR11 significantly increased shoot and root length and biomass, while reducing Fusarium-induced stunting by over 70%. Treated plants also showed improved chlorophyll content, with a 67% increase in SPAD index under pathogen induced stress. The whole genome sequencing using the PacBio SMRT platform revealed a complete 5.49 Mb circular genome comprising 5,175 proteincoding genes. Functional annotation identified genes related to nitrogen metabolism, phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, and antifungal secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Additional genomic features included stress-responsive regulatory systems, CRISPR-Cas loci, and widespread DNA methylation patterns, supporting environmental adaptability and functional resilience. No acquired or high-risk virulence or antibiotic resistance genes were identified, supporting the biosafety of strain AR11 for agricultural use. While metabolite production was not directly measured, the genome provides strong clues to AR11's beneficial potential. The identified functional genes align with the observed phenotypic effects, such as increased plant biomass associated with nutrient metabolism pathways, and reduced disease symptoms presumably related to the presence of secondary metabolite biosynthetic clusters and stress-response systems. These findings support Serratia sp. AR11 as a promising multifunctional microbial inoculant with potential to enhance pea productivity and disease resistance in low-input cropping systems.
Keywords: Artemisia, biocontrol, biostimulants, endophytic bacteria, Serratia
Received: 08 Jun 2025; Accepted: 07 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hadian, Smith and Suproniene. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shervin Hadian, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Akademija, Lithuania
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