Psychrotolerant endophytic bacteria of wild alpine plants can improve cold tolerance in crops

• Main Authors: Perazzolli, Michele, Milanese, Irma, Alhariri, Ahmad, Alussi, Melissa, Marian, Malek
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Plant Microbiome; Alpine Region; Cold Stress; Rosaceae Plants; Psychrotolerant Bacteria; Plant Growth Promotion; Dryas octopetala
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/8377795; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8377795

Climate change is causing warmer winter and spring periods with increased frequency of chilling and frost damage on crop plants. Plant-associated bacteria are supposed to contribute to plant tolerance against abiotic stresses, but scarce information is available on the role of endophytic bacteria in the mitigation of cold stress. The aim of this project was to taxonomically and functionally characterize the endophytic bacterial communities associated with cold-adapted plants belonging to the Rosaceae family. The bacterial community structure associated with flowers, leaves, and roots of Alchemilla sp., Dryas octopetala, and Geum montanum differed according to the plant tissue and plant species, while it was scarcely affected by the collection site in alpine areas. Some psychrotolerant bacterial isolates were able to promote the growth of tomato seedlings at chilling temperatures (10°C and 15°C), reducing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, these psychrotolerant bacterial isolates reduced frost damage (-6°C) on strawberry and apple plantlets, limiting the electrolyte leakage of leaf tissues. These results provided better information on the structure and function of psychrotolerant endophytic bacteria associated with alpine plants and suggested a possible use of bacterium-based inoculants to improve cold tolerance in agronomically important crops.