The role of rhizobacteria in salinity effects on biochemical constituents of the halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to understand the role of rhizospheric microorganisms in salinity effects on growth, antioxidants, pigments, and ion concentrations in the halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum L. The plants grown in nonsterilized soil exhibited the enhanced growth rate, suppressed antioxidant enzymes, increased contents of chlorophylls and carotenoids, the greater accumulation of sodium and the reduction in the potassium ion concentration, as compared with the plants grown in microbe-free soil. The dominant microbes identified from the rhizophere soil of nonsterilized plant groups included Bacillus cereus, Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Corynebacterium xerosis , and Escherichia coli . The work emphasizes the importance of the rhizobacteria that colonize the root at the interface with soil in preventing the deleterious effects caused by salinity through accumulation of sodium and pigments and reduction of antioxidants and potassium.