Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.02.26.640487

Assessing wheat growth promotion potential of Delftia lacustris strain NSC through genomic and physiological characterization

Sharma, P.·Pandey, R.·Chauhan, N. S.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

BackgroundDelftia sp. has gained considerable attention for its biocontrol and biofertilizer potential to promote the growth of crops such as Oryza sativa, Brassica campestris, and Solanum lycopersicum. However, Delftia sp. supporting wheat plants is yet to be explored. MethodsDelftia strain was cultured from wheat rhizosphere using different growth conditions. The biofertilizer potential of Delftia strain was assessed through physiological, biochemical, genomic, and field experiments. Results and DiscussionPhylogenetic and phylogenomic analysis confirmed taxonomic affiliation with Delftia lacustris. In vitro phosphate solubilization (0.325IU), nitrate reduction (0.401 IU), IAA production (0.485 IU), ACC deaminase activity (0.512 EU), siderophore synthesis properties, and strong antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani indicated its potential as an effective biofertilizer and biocontrol agent. Drought stress tolerance (up to 40% PEG), metal stress tolerance, salt stress tolerance (up to 11.69% NaCl (w/v), 11.18% KCl (w/v), 4.24% LiCl (w/v)) indicated its survivability even in hostile conditions. Genes for phosphate solubilization (PhoR, PhoB, PhoU, PstABCD), nitrogen fixation (nifC, nifU), auxin production, siderophore biosynthesis, rhizosphere colonization and antifungal properties (chitinase, PhnZ) explains Delftia lacustris bioactivities. Significantly enhanced seed germination (93.33% {+/-} 0.23), seedling growth, and biomass (P <0.05), particularly under stress conditions, indicated plant growth promotion properties of the Delftia strain. Significantly improved plant growth and yield parameters (P=0.0001) in field experiments, highlighting its potential as a biofertilizer and biocontrol agent. ConclusionDelftia lacustris strain NSC1 exhibits multifaceted biofertilizer and biocontrol potential, promoting plant growth, suppressing pathogens, and enhancing stress resilience. Its eco-friendly properties and field efficacy make it a promising alternative to chemical fertilizers for sustainable wheat production.

Explore related subjects

microbiologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Sharma, P., Pandey, R., Chauhan, N. S.. 2025-02-27. Assessing wheat growth promotion potential of Delftia lacustris strain NSC through genomic and physiological characterization. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.26.640487

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

A population-scale landscape of the subgingival microbiome reveals divergent routes to periodontal dysbiosis

Periodontitis is an archetypical mucosal inflammatory disease in which microbiome dysbiosis at the tooth-epithelial interface interacts with host genetic and behavioral risk factors to drive immune-mediated tissue destruction. Although subgingival microbiome compositional shifts are thought to parallel disease severity, microbiome variation at the population-level and its relationship to periodontal clinical phenotypes and disease-modifying factors remain poorly defined. Here, we use unsupervised manifold learning to map the compositional landscape of the subgingival microbiome in 1,355 adults spanning periodontal health to severe periodontitis. We identified eight latent microbiome states organized along a branching continuum from eubiosis to dysbiosis. An intermediate microbial configuration marked ecological destabilization and bifurcation into two distinct periodontitis-associated dysbiotic trajectories, distinguished by links to gingival inflammation and smoking. Although the microbiome trajectories broadly tracked periodontal destruction, a minority of individuals showed discordant microbiome-clinical phenotypes, with some individuals with periodontitis retaining otherwise eubiotic microbiomes enriched for low-abundance pathobionts, while some cases of health or mild disease had highly dysbiotic communities, suggesting distinct host susceptibility. Together, these findings define a population-scale ecological landscape of the subgingival microbiome, reveal divergent trajectories to periodontal dysbiosis, and highlight heterogeneity in the relationship between microbial community structure and clinical disease expression.

microbiology↗
bioRxiv2026

The iron-binding siderophore enterobactin is required for the response of multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae to zinc limitation

To persist during infection Klebsiella pneumoniae must overcome nutrient iron and zinc limitation imposed by the host immune system through a process called nutritional immunity. Secreted small molecule siderophores are a major virulence determinant of Klebsiella pneumoniae pathogenesis and are presumed to overcome nutritional immunity by binding iron for bacterial acquisition. In this work, we set out to identify how a multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae grows in zinc limited environments. Using unbiased transcriptomics, proteomics, and an arrayed transposon screen, we identified that synthesis and uptake of the siderophore enterobactin is required to allow for growth in low zinc conditions. Iron-specific chelators did not replicate this phenotype and addition of supplemental iron through heme in growth media could not complement severe growth defects of enterobactin mutant K. pneumoniae experiencing zinc limitation. Finally, zinc starvation induced enterobactin production independent of the canonical zinc uptake regulator (Zur) transcription factor suggesting an unidentified regulatory mechanism by which Gram-negative pathogens may respond to zinc stress. Together, these studies expand the role of enterobactin beyond iron regulation and highlight a previously unreported link between iron and zinc homeostasis in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

microbiology↗
bioRxiv2026

A microbiota-derived protease links phage susceptibility to host epithelial responses

Bacteriophages are major ecological drivers of gut microbial ecology, yet whether bacterial mechanisms that determine phage susceptibility have consequences for the mammalian host remains poorly understood. Here, we identify dipeptidyl peptidase 11 (Dpp11a), the predominant active serine protease of the prevalent gut commensal Phocaeicola vulgatus, as an unexpected bacterial defence factor. Dpp11a protects against environmental proteases and confers resistance to bacteriophage infection. Metatranscriptomic analyses further reveal increased expression of both dpp11a and P. vulgatus-associated phage transcripts in ulcerative colitis stool samples, indicating that both components of this interaction are transcriptionally active in disease-associated human microbiomes. Using the microfluidic gut-on-a-chip co-culture model HuMiX, we show that the absence of Dpp11 is accompanied by altered epithelial tight-junction remodelling during phage-bacterial infection. Together, our findings reveal that the consequences of bacterial phage defence can extend beyond phage-bacterium interactions to the mammalian epithelium.

microbiology↗