Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties

Introduction: Drylands are subject to multiple overlapping stresses, including high temperatures, drought, and salinity, along with soils that are low in organic matter and nitrogen. Hence, both agricultural practices and natural regeneration in these areas are hindered by poor plant establishment a...

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Autores: Pagli, Carlotta, Maggioli, Lisa, Roncero Ramos, Beatriz, Pajuelo Domínguez, Eloísa, Muñoz Rojas, Miriam, Braglia, Roberto, Cantón, Yolanda
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/179685
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/179685
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1659217
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Plant growth promotion (PGP)
Biocrust
Cyanobacteria
Heterotrophic bacteria
Sustainable agriculture
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spelling Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting propertiesPagli, CarlottaMaggioli, LisaRoncero Ramos, BeatrizPajuelo Domínguez, EloísaMuñoz Rojas, MiriamBraglia, RobertoCantón, YolandaPlant growth promotion (PGP)BiocrustCyanobacteriaHeterotrophic bacteriaSustainable agricultureIntroduction: Drylands are subject to multiple overlapping stresses, including high temperatures, drought, and salinity, along with soils that are low in organic matter and nitrogen. Hence, both agricultural practices and natural regeneration in these areas are hindered by poor plant establishment and growth. The use of plant growth-promoting (PGP) microorganisms has recently emerged as a promising strategy to enhance plant performance under these harsh conditions. Methods: In this context, the aim of this work was to isolate and screen the PGP properties of cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria from biocrusts in arid soils, representing a highly unexplored niche of microorganisms with potential application in agriculture and ecological restoration. We determined key PGP traits, including phosphate and potassium solubilization, growth under nitrogenfree conditions, siderophore and auxin production, as well as protease, lipase, DNase, amylase, catalase, and cytochrome-C-oxidase activities. Results: Our results showed that, among the cyanobacteria analyzed, Nostoc commune CANT2, isolated from the province of Almería (Spain), exhibited the highest number of PGP properties, followed by N. commune AB55 (southern Sardinia, Italy) and Trichocoleus cf. desertorum CAU7 (Almería). Both strains AB55 and CANT2 are characterized by their production of exopolysaccharides (EPS). Regarding the heterotrophic bacterial strains, those with the best PGP properties were identified as Peribacillus frigoritolerans and Bacillus atrophaeus by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Seed biopriming experiments with the model plant Triticum aestivum showed that application of N. commune CANT2, either alone or in combination with P. frigoritolerans 1E, enhanced vigor indices by up to 58% compared to the control. Discussion: These findings highlight the potential of combined microbial consortia with PGP activities as candidates for the development of biostimulants, offering a sustainable approach to improve plant growth and resilience in dryland agriculture.FrontiersMicrobiología y ParasitologíaMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN). España2025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/11441/179685https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1659217reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevillainstname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)InglésFrontiers in Plant Science, 16, 1659217.TED2021-132332B-C21TED2021-132332A-C22https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1659217info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:idus.us.es:11441/1796852026-06-17T12:51:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
title Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
spellingShingle Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
Pagli, Carlotta
Plant growth promotion (PGP)
Biocrust
Cyanobacteria
Heterotrophic bacteria
Sustainable agriculture
title_short Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
title_full Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
title_fullStr Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
title_full_unstemmed Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
title_sort Unlocking the potential of biocrust microorganisms in agriculture: cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Pagli, Carlotta
Maggioli, Lisa
Roncero Ramos, Beatriz
Pajuelo Domínguez, Eloísa
Muñoz Rojas, Miriam
Braglia, Roberto
Cantón, Yolanda
author Pagli, Carlotta
author_facet Pagli, Carlotta
Maggioli, Lisa
Roncero Ramos, Beatriz
Pajuelo Domínguez, Eloísa
Muñoz Rojas, Miriam
Braglia, Roberto
Cantón, Yolanda
author_role author
author2 Maggioli, Lisa
Roncero Ramos, Beatriz
Pajuelo Domínguez, Eloísa
Muñoz Rojas, Miriam
Braglia, Roberto
Cantón, Yolanda
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Microbiología y Parasitología
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN). España
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Plant growth promotion (PGP)
Biocrust
Cyanobacteria
Heterotrophic bacteria
Sustainable agriculture
topic Plant growth promotion (PGP)
Biocrust
Cyanobacteria
Heterotrophic bacteria
Sustainable agriculture
description Introduction: Drylands are subject to multiple overlapping stresses, including high temperatures, drought, and salinity, along with soils that are low in organic matter and nitrogen. Hence, both agricultural practices and natural regeneration in these areas are hindered by poor plant establishment and growth. The use of plant growth-promoting (PGP) microorganisms has recently emerged as a promising strategy to enhance plant performance under these harsh conditions. Methods: In this context, the aim of this work was to isolate and screen the PGP properties of cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria from biocrusts in arid soils, representing a highly unexplored niche of microorganisms with potential application in agriculture and ecological restoration. We determined key PGP traits, including phosphate and potassium solubilization, growth under nitrogenfree conditions, siderophore and auxin production, as well as protease, lipase, DNase, amylase, catalase, and cytochrome-C-oxidase activities. Results: Our results showed that, among the cyanobacteria analyzed, Nostoc commune CANT2, isolated from the province of Almería (Spain), exhibited the highest number of PGP properties, followed by N. commune AB55 (southern Sardinia, Italy) and Trichocoleus cf. desertorum CAU7 (Almería). Both strains AB55 and CANT2 are characterized by their production of exopolysaccharides (EPS). Regarding the heterotrophic bacterial strains, those with the best PGP properties were identified as Peribacillus frigoritolerans and Bacillus atrophaeus by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Seed biopriming experiments with the model plant Triticum aestivum showed that application of N. commune CANT2, either alone or in combination with P. frigoritolerans 1E, enhanced vigor indices by up to 58% compared to the control. Discussion: These findings highlight the potential of combined microbial consortia with PGP activities as candidates for the development of biostimulants, offering a sustainable approach to improve plant growth and resilience in dryland agriculture.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/11441/179685
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1659217
url https://hdl.handle.net/11441/179685
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1659217
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Frontiers in Plant Science, 16, 1659217.
TED2021-132332B-C21
TED2021-132332A-C22
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1659217
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Frontiers
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Frontiers
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
instname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
instname_str Universidad de Sevilla (US)
reponame_str idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
collection idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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