Agrobiotechnological potential of bacteria isolated from agricultural soils associated to corn production in the El Fuerte Valley, Sinaloa

Abstract

The plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) are agriculturally important microorganisms, when they grow in association with plants stimulate their growth. These bacteria are the basis for the development of biofertilizers, whose use contributes to sustainable agriculture. The aim of this research was to isolate and metabolically characterize edaphic bacteria to identify those that could have some biotechnological application. Soil was sampled from five agricultural sites, achieving isolation of 166 bacterial strains by microbiological methods. The isolates were metabolically characterized to identify strains capable of synthesizing auxins, siderophores and solubilize phosphates. For the determination of auxin synthesis, indoles were quantitated, finding that 100% of the bacterial strains have the ability to synthesize these phytohormones, although only 11 bacteria synthesized to 4ppm greater concentration. Moreover, it was determined that 42% of the bacteria showed the ability to produce siderophores, identifying 10 strains with a production efficiency higher than 50. Finally, 74 strains were able to solubilize phosphate, 54% of them showed a solubilization efficiency of 20 to 40, but 8 strains with values greater than 40 were identified. Bacteria identified with the best capacities in each of the characteristics evaluated are promising strains to be studied in future research to evaluate their potential to promote plant growth, increase yields and biocontrol diseases.