Modulation of salt tolerance in Thai jasmine rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. KDML105) by Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 10712 expressing ACC deaminase

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase is a plant growth promoting (PGP) trait found in beneficial bacteria including streptomycetes and responsible for stress modulation. The ACC deaminase gene, acdS, of S. venezuelae ATCC 10712 was cloned into an expression plasmid, pIJ86, to generate S. venezuelae/pIJ86-acdS. Expression of acdS and production of ACC deaminase of S. venezuelae/pIJ86-acdS were significantly higher than the unmodified strain. The ACC deaminase-overexpressing mutant and the wild type control were inoculated into Thai jasmine rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. KDML105) under salt stress conditions. S. venezuelae on its own augmented rice growth and significantly increased more tolerance to salinity by reduction of ethylene, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Na(+) contents, while accumulating more proline, total chlorophyll, relative water content (RWC), malondialdehyde (MDA), and K(+) than those of uninoculated controls. The overproducer did not alter chlorophyll, RWC, or MDA further–while it did boost more shoot weight and elongation, and significantly regulated salt tolerance of rice by increasing proline and reducing ethylene and Na(+) contents further than that of the wild type. This work is the first illustration of the beneficial roles of S. venezuelae to enhance plant fitness endophytically by promotion of growth and salt tolerance of rice.