Founder and President Instituto de Investigación Lightbourn Jimenez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Body of Abstract: The increase in demand for agricultural products has led to the intensification of the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers, which has caused environmental contamination and loss of soil fertility. An alternative to recover the agroecological functions of the soil is the incorporation of microorganisms that promote plant growth. In this sense, some species of the genus Pseudomonas can confer cross-protection against multiple types of biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as stimulating plant development and degrading some toxic compounds. However, Pseudomonas psychrotolerans have been little studied, although some strains exhibit great biotechnological potential to contribute to the recovery of soil fertility. In this research work we report the first isolation and characterization of Pseudomonas psychrotolerans from Mexico. The strain designated as LALR-21 was isolated by classical microbiological methods, the amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used as a biomarker for the identification and taxonomic classification of LALR-21. Genome sequencing and analysis of this bacterial strain was used to shed light on the genetic basis of potential properties involved in plant growth promotion, stress tolerance, and glyphosate degradation. The analysis revealed that the genome is composed of 6,327 CDSs, among which there are at least 23 directly related to plant growth promotion and stress tolerance. In the experiment conducted in the laboratory LALR-21 promoted the growth of tomato and bell pepper plants. The isolated Pseudomonas strain possess several plant growth-promoting traits including inorganic phosphate and calcium solubilization, siderophore production, nitrogen fixation, auxin production, and antimicrobial activity against Xanthomonas euvesicatoria, Pseudomonas syringae, Ralstonia solanacearum and Fusarium oxysporum. These data provide important evidence showing that, soon, strain LALR-21could be part of an applied biological formulation for soil fertility recovery.