Effects of application of Rhodopseudomonas sp. on seed germination and growth of tomato under axenic conditions

Purple nonsulfur bacteria were isolated from river sediments and their growth promoting capabilities on tomato were examined. Isolated strains KL9 and BL6 were identified as Rhodopseudomonas spp. by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Rhodopseudomonas strain KL9 maximally produced 5.56 mM/ min/mg protein and 67.2 microM/min/mg protein of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), respectively, which may be one of the mechanisms of plant growth enhancement. The germination percentage of tomato seed, total length, and dry mass of germinated tomato seedling increased by 30.2%, 71.1%, and 270.8%, respectively, compared with those of the uninoculated control 7 days after inoculation of strain KL9. The lengths of the root and shoot of germinated seedling treated with 3 mM tryptophan, a precursor of IAA, increased by 104.4% and 156.5%, respectively, 7 days after inoculation of strain KL9. Rhodopseudomonas KL9 increased 123.5% and 54% of the root and shoot lengths of germinated seedling, respectively, treated with 15 mM glycine and succinate, precursors of ALA. This plant growth promoting capability of purple nonsulfur bacteria may be a candidate for a biofertilizer in agriculture.