title: Plant Drought Tolerance Enhancement by Trehalose Production of Desiccation-Tolerant Microorganisms.
abstract: A collection of desiccation-tolerant xeroprotectant-producing microorganisms was screened for their ability to protect plants against drought, and their role as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria was investigated in two different crops (tomato and pepper). The most commonly described biochemical mechanisms for plant protection against drought by microorganisms including the production of phytohormones, antioxidants and xeroprotectants were analyzed. In particular, the degree of plant protection against drought provided by these microorganisms was characterized. After studying the findings and comparing them with results of the closest taxonomic relatives at the species and strain levels, we propose that trehalose produced by these microorganisms is correlated with their ability to protect plants against drought. This proposal is based on the increased protection of plants against drought by the desiccation-sensitive microorganismPseudomonas putidaKT2440, which expresses theotsAB genes for trehalose biosynthesisin trans.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water Research, and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Vílchez
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water Research, and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: García-Fontana
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water Research, and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Desireé
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Román-Naranjo
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water Research, and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: González-López
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water Research, and Department of Microbiology, University of Granada Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Maximino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manzanera
keywords: Pseudomonas putida KT2440; desiccation tolerance; plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR); rhizobacterial drought-tolerance enhancers (RDTE); trehalose