Screening of Bacterial Strains for Alleviating Drought Stress in Chili Pepper Plants

Kim, Sang Tae; Yoo, Sung-Je; Song, Jaekyeong; Weon, Hang-Yeon; Sang, Mee Kyung

doi:2019.25.3.136

Res. Plant Dis > Volume 25(3); 2019 > Article

Research in Plant Disease 2019;25(3):136-142.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5423/RPD.2019.25.3.136 Published online September 30, 2019.

고추 식물의 건조 스트레스 완화를 위한 미생물 선발

김상태^1,2 · 유성제^1,3 · 송재경¹ · 원항연¹ · 상미경^1*

¹농촌진흥청 국립농업과학원 농업생물부 농업미생물과
²동아대학교 응용생명과학과
³경상대학교 농업생명자원학과

Screening of Bacterial Strains for Alleviating Drought Stress in Chili Pepper Plants

Sang Tae Kim^1,2, Sung-Je Yoo^1,3, Jaekyeong Song¹, Hang-Yeon Weon¹, Mee Kyung Sang¹

¹Division of Agricultural Microbiology, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju 55365, Korea
²Department of Applied Bioscience, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Korea
³Department of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea

Correspondence: Mee Kyung Sang,*Tel: +82-63-238-3055
Fax: +82-63-238-3834
E-mail: mksang@korea.kr
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9032-7012

Received: July 09, 2019 Revised: September 02, 2019 Accepted: September 02, 2019

Abstract

Drought stress is considered as one of major abiotic stresses; it leads to reduce plant growth and crop productivity. In this study, we selected bacterial strains for alleviating drought stress in chili pepper plants. As drought-tolerant bacteria, 28 among 447 strains were pre-selected by in vitro assays including growth in drought condition with polyethylene glycol and plant growth-promoting traits including production of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase, indole-3-acetic acid and exopolysaccharide. Sequentially, 7 among pre-selected 28 strains were screened based on relative water content (RWC); GLC02 and KJ40, among seven strains were finally selected by RWC and malondialdehyde (MDA) in planta trials under an artificial drought condition by polyethylene glycol solution. Two strains GLC02 and KJ40 reduced drought stress in a natural drought condition as well as an artificial condition. Strains GLC02 or KJ40 increased shoot fresh weight, chlorophyll and stomatal conductance while they decreased MDA in chili pepper plants under a natural drought condition. However, two strains did not show biocontrol activity against diseases caused by Phytophthora capsici and Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria in chili pepper plants. Taken together, strains GLC02 or KJ40 can be used as bio-fertilizer for alleviation of drought stress in chili pepper plants.

Key Words: Chili pepper, Drought, Rhizobacteria