Salt Tolerant Endophytic and Diazotrophic Strain of Proteus Mirabilis Pd25 and Its Effect on The Growth of Wheat Under Saline Conditions

Abstract

In the present investigation, an endophytic diazotroph PD25 with novel properties was isolated from roots of wheat growing in saline soil (EC~10.6dS m^-1). The isolate was chosen for further experimental work based on plant growth promoting attributes and identified as Proteus mirabilis by 16S rRNA sequence homology. The work presented in this article reports the salt tolerant bacterium P. mirabilis PD25 as effective diazotrophic endophyte and the isolate was also found to be positive for other plant growth promoting attributes such as siderophore, indole acetic acid (IAA), accompanied by the solubilization of phosphorus (P), zinc (Zn), and potassium (K). The data signifies the prominent involvement of plant growth promoting endophyte (PGPE) in agriculture and suggests that novel bioformulations developed by them can be a potential development strategy in boosting plant growth and development in saline soils in the future.