Differential contribution of plant-beneficial functions from Pseudomonas kilonensis F113 to root system architecture alterations in Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays

Fluorescent pseudomonads are playing key roles in plant-bacteria symbiotic interactions due to the multiple plant-beneficial functions (PBFs) they are harboring. The relative contributions of PBFs to plant-stimulatory effects of the well-known PGPR Pseudomonas kilonensis F113 (formerly P. fluorescens F113) were investigated using a genetic approach. To this end, several deletion mutants were constructed: simple mutants ΔphlD (impaired in the biosynthesis of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol [DAPG]), ΔacdS (deficient in 1- aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate [ACC] deaminase activity), Δgcd (glucose dehydrogenase deficient, impaired in phosphate solubilization), and ΔnirS (nitrite reductase deficient) and a quadruple mutant (deficient in the 4 PBFs mentioned above). Every PBF activity was quantified in the wild-type strain and the five deletion mutants. This approach revealed few functional interactions between PBFs in vitro. In particular, biosynthesis of glucose dehydrogenase severely reduced the production of DAPG. Contrariwise, the DAPG production impacted positively, but to a lesser extent, phosphate solubilization. Inoculation of the F113 wild-type strain on Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 and maize seedlings modified the root architecture of both plants. Mutant strain inoculations revealed that the relative contribution of each PBF differed according to the measured plant traits, and that F113 plant-stimulatory effects did not correspond to the sum of each PBF relative contribution. Indeed, two PBF genes (∆acdS and ∆nirS) had a significant impact on root system architecture from both model plants, whether in in vitro and in vivo conditions. The current work underlined that few F113 PBFs seem to interact between each other in the free-living bacterial cells, whereas they control in concert Arabidopsis thaliana and maize growth and development