Exploring the Genomic Analysis and Growth-Promoting Abilities of Endophytic Bacterium Serratia sp. strain HSTU-BF1R4: Enhancing Tomato Plant Growth Performance in Field

Abstract

Endophytic bacteria that reside within plants without causing any harm to the host have a variety of beneficial effect on plant growth and productivity. This study was aimed to isolate and characterization of new endophytic bacteria as well as to observe its growth effect on tomato plant in fields. Therefore, bacteria isolate from eggplant roots were characterized by biochemical and genomic analysis. The genome of Serratia sp. HSTU-BF1R4 consists of one single 5134367 bp chromosome, with an average 59.6% GC content and 4922 predicted protein coding DNA sequences (CDS), 86 RNAs. The isolated bacterium exhibited an array of growth- promoting attributes, including the presence of genes responsible for nitrogen fixation, siderophore production, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase activity, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) synthesis sulfur metabolism, phosphate metabolism, and other growth-promoting genes. Additionally, it displayed significant stress tolerance capabilities. Genomic analysis such as Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI), DNA-DNA Hybridization (DDH), whole-genome phylogenetic tree analysis, conclusively indicated that the strain belonged to a new species of Serratia. The application of Serratia sp. in seed gemination HSTU-BF1R4 increase germination percentage, seeding length, shoot &root length compare to Tc. The foliar application of Serratia sp. HSTU-BF1R4 on tomato plants significantly improved their growth such as root length, shoot length, leave length, branch no, flower no and fruits no compare to Tc. This research introduces a new endophytic bacterium with promising agricultural applications. The strain's remarkable growth-promoting traits and stress tolerance abilities present an exciting avenue for sustainable and eco-friendly agricultural practices. Also, the genetic insights into Serratia sp. strain will increase valuable knowledge to the field of microbiology.