Investigating the diversity of bacterial endophytes in maize and their plant growth-promoting attributes

Maize is a widely known crop in cereals for its importance as staple food, and the endophytic bacteria which dwell within the maize tissues may have impact on the yield and quality of crop. In this study, endophytic bacteria associated with maize were characterized based on their plant growth promoting traits and identified at molecular level to provide valuable information for developing a microbial consortium to enhance the productivity of crop. The bacterial strains having multi-trait plant growth promoting attributes were studied quantitatively, and highest phosphate solubilization was shown by the isolate KL3E1 (573 µg/mL), while K solubilization has reported maximum of 39 mg/L by the isolate PdS3E1, IAA production was found maximum by the isolate LL3E1 (165 μg/mL), and maximum siderophore production (93%) was shown by the isolate VaR3E1 and exopolysaccharide production was found highest by LS3E3 (65 mg/L). The efficient isolates identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing were found as Gordonia hongkongensis, Microbacterium hydrothermale, Kosakonia radicincitans, Kosakonia cowanii, Priestia megaterium, Priestia aryabhattai, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Cellulosimicrobium funkei, Bacillus licheniformis, Pantoea dispersa, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Methylorubrum populi. The results showed that these multi-trait plant growth promoting endophytic bacterial isolates could be used as bio inoculants for sustainable improvement of maize crop productivity.