Isolation of soybean-specific plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria using soybean agglutin and evaluation of their effects to improve soybean growth, yield, and soil nutritional status.

The basic requirements of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for field applications are that they have an affinity for the host plant and that they can colonize the rhizosphere. Here, a new technique was established using soybean agglutin (SBA) as a tool to isolate soybean-specific PGPR. Thirty-three PGPR strains with an affinity for soybean were obtained via the screening method with SBA. All 33 isolates were able to produce indole acetic acid and solubilize inorganic phosphate and potassium. Most isolates (93.94%) were able to solubilize organic phosphate and almost half (45.45%) were able to produce siderophores. More than 40% of the isolates exhibited all five plant growth-promoting traits. The isolate Enterobacter sp. strain DN9 was selected for further analyses of its rhizosphere colonization and soybean growth-promoting effects because of its excellent activity in phosphate and potassium solubilization. The luciferase luxAB gene was electrotransformed into DN9, and the labelled DN9 (DN9-L) was able to survive in the soybean rhizosphere and colonize new spaces as the soybean roots elongated. This strain positively affected root system development and soybean seedling growth. In pot and field experiments, the isolates DN9, DW1, and DW13 significantly increased the nutrient contents in rhizosphere soil and soybean leaves. On average, the seed number per plant and the seed weight per plant were increased by 20% and 24% respectively, in plants inoculated with these PGPR strains in the pot experiment. In a field experiment, compared with uninoculated plants, those inoculated with DW1 showed 46.78% higher pod number per plant and 5.23% higher seed oil content; those inoculated with DW13 showed 79.82% higher seed number per plant and 65.10% higher seed weight per plant; and those inoculated with DN9 showed 9.13% higher 100-seed weight. These results show that SBA can be used as a tool to isolate efficient PGPR to enhance soybean production.