ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbial Physiology and Metabolism
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1675497
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements in Microbial Genomics for Environmental SustainabilityView all articles
Whole genome sequence of Penicillium kloeckeri and insight into its growth-promoting, saline alkaline tolerance properties
Provisionally accepted
- China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Introduction: Microbial agents, mainly bacterial strains, are widely used in agriculture, their often limited efficacy underscores the critical need for resilient fungal alternatives. A novel strain of Penicillium kloeckeri with potential agricultural applications was isolated and purified. Methods and Results: Here, the genome of P. kloeckeri was sequenced and function predicted. The assembled P. kloeckeri genome had a 34.28 Mb genome size with 41.87% GC content, and revealed functional genes associated with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), daidzein, siderophore, and organic acid secretion, suggesting its role in plant growth promotion and soil improvement. Metabolite analysis further confirmed daidzein and amino acid production. Under salt stress conditions, P. kloeckeri inoculation (YJKS) significantly improved soybean growth compared to the salt-stressed control (YCK). Specifically, inoculation increased stem diameter by 17.79% and dramatically enhanced root length (99.95%), root area (111.96%), root volume (114.80%), and root biomass (14.97%). Furthermore, in saline alkali soil, P. kloeckeri inoculation effectively reduced soil pH, improve soil physical structure, and enhance nutrient availability. Discussion: P. kloeckeri is a promising new fungal strain with potential agricultural applications. This study provides a foundational genomic resource and initial evidence for its agricultural utility, warranting further investigation into its underlying mechanisms and commercial viability.
Keywords: Penicillium kloeckeri, Whole-genome sequencing, untargeted metabolomics, Soybean hydroponic experiment, Saline alkali soil
Received: 29 Jul 2025; Accepted: 22 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cui, Wu, Ni and Cao. 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: Jia Cao, jia.cao@cau.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.