Isolation and identification of a new Bacillus glycinifermentans strain from date palm rhizosphere and its effect on barley seeds under heavy metal stress

Soil contamination by heavy metals is one of the major problems that adversely decrease plant growth and biomass production. Inoculation with the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can attenuate the toxicity of heavy metals and enhancing the plant growth. In this study, we evaluated the potential of a novel extremotolerant strain (IS-2 T) isolated from date palm rhizosphere to improve barley seedling growth under heavy metal stress. The species-level identification was carried out using morphological and biochemical methods combined with whole genome sequencing. The bacterial strain was then used in vitro for inoculating Hordeum vulgare L. exposed to three different Cr, Zn, and Ni concentrations (0.5, 1, and 2 mM) in petri dishes and different morphological parameters were assessed. The strain was identified as Bacillus glycinifermentans species. This strain showed high tolerance to pH (6–11), salt stress (0.2–2 M), and heavy metals. Indeed, the minimum inhibitory concentrations at which bacterium was unable to grow were 4 mM for nickel, 3 mM for zinc, more than 8 mM for copper, and 40 mM for chromium, respectively. It was observed that inoculation of Hordeum vulgare L. under metal stress conditions with Bacillus glycinifermentans IS-2 T stain improved considerably the growth parameters. The capacity of the IS-2 T strain to withstand a range of abiotic stresses and improve barley seedling development under lab conditions makes it a promising candidate for use as a PGPR in zinc, nickel, copper, and chromium bioremediation.