Whole genome sequence of Pantoea agglomerans ANP8, a salinity and drought stress–resistant bacterium isolated from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) root nodules

Environmental abiotic stress conditions, especially drought and salinity, are currently the major factors that reduce crop yields worldwide. It has been reported that plant–associated beneficial bacteria, especially strains resistant to abiotic stresses that could maintain their efficiency under environmental challenging conditions, can contribute to alleviate abiotic stresses of host plants. In this study, we presented the assembly of the whole genome of Pantoea agglomerans ANP8, a plant growth-promoting bacterium resistant to salinity and drought stresses. The draft genome assembly contained 4,713,172 bp with 4586 predicted genes. A primary draft genome with a total of 5,115,548 bp and 1916 contigs was obtained (longest contig length being 485,272 bp and smallest contig being 112 bp). Following assembly upgrades, 68 scaffolds and 70 contigs with lengths ≥ 500 bp and an N50 = 209,657 bp were obtained. Number of 5554 and 5472 open reading frames longer than 50 codons were observed in the direct strand and in the reverse strand, respectively. Due to the multiple plant growth-promoting characteristics of this bacterium, genes involved in various indole-3-acetic acid production pathways, e.g., indole-3-pyruvic acid and indole-3-acetamide pathways, were found in the bacterium's genome. In addition, multiple copies of the gcd gene, most important enzymes involvement in the solubilization of phosphates, glucose dehydrogenase, were also observed in this genome. The study provides new genomic information to help understanding the way of action of a stress-tolerant plant growth–promoting bacterium.