Isolation of plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas sp. PPR8 from the rhizosphere of Phaseolus vulgaris L

In vitro screening of plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits was carried out using eight Pseudomonas spp., PPR1 to PPR8, isolated from the rhizosphere of Phaseolus vulgaris growing on the Uttarakhand Himalayan range in India. All the isolates were fast growers, positive for catalase, oxidase and urease activities, and utilized lactose and some amino acids. All the isolates were indole acetic acid (IAA) positive, however PPR8 solubilized potassium and zinc along with various other types of inorganic (tricalcium, dicalcium and zinc phosphate) and organic (calcium phytate) phosphates, as well as producing siderophore and ACC deaminase. PPR8 also produced cyanogens, extracellular chitinase, ?-1,3-glucanase, ?-1,4-glucanase and oxalate oxidase. Based on the PGP traits of all isolates, PPR8 was found to be the most potent plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Further, PPR8 was identified as Pseudomonas sp. PPR8, based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Moreover, the PGP activities of PPR8 confirmed it to be a potent biocontrol agent, inhibiting the growth of various plant pathogenic fungi. This study reveals the potential of Pseudomonas sp. PPR8 to be used as a good bioinoculant for growth promotion of common bean and for the protection of important legume crops from various deleterious phytopathogens.