Ecofriendly conversion of algal waste into valuable plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) biomass

With the development of marine biorefinery concept, utilisation of algal waste during industrial processing as well as some "green tide" waste biomass has become an important research topic. In this work, a single-step microwave process was used to hydrolyse Laminaria japonica processing waste (LJW) and Enteromorpha prolifera (EP), producing a growth medium suitable for microbial cultivation. The medium contained a range of mono- and polysaccharides as well as macro- and micronutrients that could be used by the microbes. The cultivation behavior of three plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains (Bacillus subtilis strain Tpb55, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain Cas02, and Burkholderia pyrrocinia strain Lyc2) in the two media were investigated. LJW hydrolysate from 180 °C and EP hydrolysate from 150 °C performed better cultivation efficiency than those hydrolysates from other microwave conditions. Saccharide analysis showed that microbes metabolized some monosaccharide such as glucose, mannose during cultivation, leaving polysaccharide unused in the medium. Furthermore, hydrolysate-strain cultivation mixtures were applied to pepper growth. The EP hydrolysate-Cas02 broth showed better plant growth-promoting effect compared to other treatments, which might be attributed to the higher indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production of Cas02 in the EP hydrolysate. This work shed lights on the conversion of algal waste to PGPR biomass as well as the co-application of algal hydrolysates- strains cultivation broth for a better plant growth promotion.