The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel Stress
The growth and nutrient balance of legumes can be disrupted in soils with increased nickel (Ni) concentrations. The inoculation of legumes with rhizobia, symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria, can be used for the alleviation of trace metal stress in plants. This study evaluated the Ni tolerance of alfa...
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2025-02-01
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| author | Mila Pešić Sonja Tošić Jojević Biljana Sikirić Vesna Mrvić Marina Jovković Mira Milinković Snežana Andjelković Olivera Stajković-Srbinović |
| author_facet | Mila Pešić Sonja Tošić Jojević Biljana Sikirić Vesna Mrvić Marina Jovković Mira Milinković Snežana Andjelković Olivera Stajković-Srbinović |
| author_sort | Mila Pešić |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The growth and nutrient balance of legumes can be disrupted in soils with increased nickel (Ni) concentrations. The inoculation of legumes with rhizobia, symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria, can be used for the alleviation of trace metal stress in plants. This study evaluated the Ni tolerance of alfalfa rhizobia isolates and some plant growth-promoting traits in the presence of Ni: indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, Ni biosorption potential, and the effect of rhizobia on alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i> L.) growth. The strains were characterized as <i>Shinorhizobium meliloti</i>, <i>Sinorhizobium medicae</i>, and <i>Rhizobium tibeticum</i>. In total, 70% of the tested strains tolerate up to 0.8 mM Ni, while 15% of the strains tolerate 1.2 mM Ni. The production of IAA was maintained in the presence of Ni until bacterial growth was stopped by raising the Ni concentration. Alfalfa seed germination is significantly reduced in the presence of 0.5 mM Ni, while a significant reduction in 10-day-old seedling length already occurs at a Ni concentration of 0.03 mM. In the plant experiment, when alfalfa was inoculated with rhizobial strains, nodulation was maintained up to 0.05 mM Ni, but a significant reduction in nodule number was detected at 0.01 mM Ni. At the concentration of 0.005 mM Ni, inoculation with 12 particular rhizobial strains significantly improved the number of nodules per plant, plant height, and root length, as well as plant shoot dry weight, compared to non-inoculated plants with Ni addition. However, higher concentrations caused a reduction in all of these plant growth parameters compared to the plants without Ni. The selected rhizobia strains showed a Ni biosorption capacity of 20% in the in vitro assay. The inoculation of alfalfa with effective rhizobial strains improves growth parameters compared to non-inoculated plants in the presence of certain concentrations of Ni. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-63c9fe44cbc1475dbc67dcea275cb5ee |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-63c9fe44cbc1475dbc67dcea275cb5ee2025-08-20T03:12:05ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-02-0113234010.3390/microorganisms13020340The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel StressMila Pešić0Sonja Tošić Jojević1Biljana Sikirić2Vesna Mrvić3Marina Jovković4Mira Milinković5Snežana Andjelković6Olivera Stajković-Srbinović7Institute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Forage Crops Kruševac, Globoder, 37251 Kruševac, SerbiaInstitute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaThe growth and nutrient balance of legumes can be disrupted in soils with increased nickel (Ni) concentrations. The inoculation of legumes with rhizobia, symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria, can be used for the alleviation of trace metal stress in plants. This study evaluated the Ni tolerance of alfalfa rhizobia isolates and some plant growth-promoting traits in the presence of Ni: indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, Ni biosorption potential, and the effect of rhizobia on alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i> L.) growth. The strains were characterized as <i>Shinorhizobium meliloti</i>, <i>Sinorhizobium medicae</i>, and <i>Rhizobium tibeticum</i>. In total, 70% of the tested strains tolerate up to 0.8 mM Ni, while 15% of the strains tolerate 1.2 mM Ni. The production of IAA was maintained in the presence of Ni until bacterial growth was stopped by raising the Ni concentration. Alfalfa seed germination is significantly reduced in the presence of 0.5 mM Ni, while a significant reduction in 10-day-old seedling length already occurs at a Ni concentration of 0.03 mM. In the plant experiment, when alfalfa was inoculated with rhizobial strains, nodulation was maintained up to 0.05 mM Ni, but a significant reduction in nodule number was detected at 0.01 mM Ni. At the concentration of 0.005 mM Ni, inoculation with 12 particular rhizobial strains significantly improved the number of nodules per plant, plant height, and root length, as well as plant shoot dry weight, compared to non-inoculated plants with Ni addition. However, higher concentrations caused a reduction in all of these plant growth parameters compared to the plants without Ni. The selected rhizobia strains showed a Ni biosorption capacity of 20% in the in vitro assay. The inoculation of alfalfa with effective rhizobial strains improves growth parameters compared to non-inoculated plants in the presence of certain concentrations of Ni.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/340<i>Medicago sativa</i><i>Sinorhizobium</i>trace metalsnickelplant growth promotion |
| spellingShingle | Mila Pešić Sonja Tošić Jojević Biljana Sikirić Vesna Mrvić Marina Jovković Mira Milinković Snežana Andjelković Olivera Stajković-Srbinović The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel Stress Microorganisms <i>Medicago sativa</i> <i>Sinorhizobium</i> trace metals nickel plant growth promotion |
| title | The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel Stress |
| title_full | The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel Stress |
| title_fullStr | The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel Stress |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel Stress |
| title_short | The Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Alfalfa Rhizobial Strains Under Nickel Stress |
| title_sort | plant growth promoting ability of alfalfa rhizobial strains under nickel stress |
| topic | <i>Medicago sativa</i> <i>Sinorhizobium</i> trace metals nickel plant growth promotion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/340 |
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