Vol. 12, Special Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Amrutha G, Mahadevaswamy, Swapna, Anand N, Balakrishna R and Suhas PD

Abstract:
Among the abiotic factors affecting the plant growth, drought is the significant one. It is known to affect the plant water relations there by causing specific and non specific damages. Increased ethylene production caused by drought is the primary factor in early senescence of leaves and flowers in plants, which has a negative impact on productivity and yield (9–10%). Some microorganisms have the ability to produce an enzyme called 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate (ACC) de-aminase that has been known to cleave 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic acid (precursor of Ethylene) to form α-ketogultarate. This coversion will reduce Ethylene levels in plant and its adverse effects. Some of the P- Solubilizing microorganisms are also known to produce ACC de-aminase and this study focuses on isolation of such drought tolerant ACC de-aminase producing P-solubilizers to mitigate drought stress and increase P-availability in plants. This may be the cost effective and most efficient solution for the damages caused the water stress in plants. Among the 110 strains isolated from 34 soil samples from different part of Kalaburagi district, 14 P-solubilizing isolates showed positive results for drought tolerance and ACC de-aminase production. 10 isolates have shown positive results for production of IAA. Among these isolates C4-B produced highest amount of ACC de-aminase and solubilized maximum quantity of phsphorus followed by the isolate C1-A.