Combined Bacillus velezensis-Brevibacterium frigoritolerans Biostimulant and Melatonin Improves Salt Tolerance in Maize Seedlings and Is associated with Physiological and Transcriptome-Metabolome Changes.
- 1College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, Shandong 250353, P. R. China.
Abstract
Salt stress severely limits maize seedling establishment, and microbiology-based biostimulants offer a promising strategy for improving crop performance under salinity. However, whether plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can complement melatonin (MT) in regulating maize salt responses remains unclear. Here, maize seedlings grown hydroponically under 100 mM NaCl were treated with a mixed PGPR inoculant comprising Bacillus velezensis and Brevibacterium frigoritolerans, foliar MT, or their combination. Physiological traits were measured across eight treatments, and comparative transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed between salt stress alone (S) and the combined treatment (S+R+MT). The combined treatment more effectively restored plant height, root length, biomass, root activity, photosynthetic pigments, proline, soluble sugars, and antioxidant enzyme activities than single treatments, while decreasing malondialdehyde and H₂O₂ accumulation. Untargeted metabolomics identified 836 differential metabolites, mainly enriched in amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism, the pentose phosphate pathway, nucleotide metabolism, and ABC transporters. Transcriptome analysis identified 7,307 differentially expressed genes enriched in carbon metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and MAPK signaling. Integrated analysis indicated that the combined treatment coordinated osmotic adjustment, carbon allocation, glutathione/ascorbate-associated redox buffering, and phenylpropanoid-related defense. These results indicate that co-application of PGPR and MT can improve the salt tolerance of maize seedlings under controlled hydroponic NaCl stress.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026combined,
title = {{Combined Bacillus velezensis-Brevibacterium frigoritolerans Biostimulant and Melatonin Improves Salt Tolerance in Maize Seedlings and Is associated with Physiological and Transcriptome-Metabolome Changes.}},
author = {Xiaoyong Li and Chen Wang and Qing Feng and Yu Qiao and Yuning Zhang},
journal = {Journal of microbiology and biotechnology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.4014/jmb.2606.06019},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42967586},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Combined Bacillus velezensis-Brevibacterium frigoritolerans Biostimulant and Melatonin Improves Salt Tolerance in Maize Seedlings and Is associated with Physiological and Transcriptome-Metabolome Changes.
AU - Xiaoyong Li
AU - Chen Wang
AU - Qing Feng
AU - Yu Qiao
AU - Yuning Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Journal of microbiology and biotechnology
DO - 10.4014/jmb.2606.06019
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42967586
AB - Salt stress severely limits maize seedling establishment, and microbiology-based biostimulants offer a promising strategy for improving crop performance under salinity. However, whether plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can complement melatonin (MT) in regulating maize salt responses remains unclear. Here, maize seedlings grown hydroponically under 100 mM NaCl were treated with a mixed PGPR inoculant comprising Bacillus velezensis and Brevibacterium frigoritolerans, foliar MT, or their combination. Physiological traits were measured across eight treatments, and comparative transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed between salt stress alone (S) and the combined treatment (S+R+MT). The combined treatment more effectively restored plant height, root length, biomass, root activity, photosynthetic pigments, proline, soluble sugars, and antioxidant enzyme activities than single treatments, while decreasing malondialdehyde and H₂O₂ accumulation. Untargeted metabolomics identified 836 differential metabolites, mainly enriched in amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism, the pentose phosphate pathway, nucleotide metabolism, and ABC transporters. Transcriptome analysis identified 7,307 differentially expressed genes enriched in carbon metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and MAPK signaling. Integrated analysis indicated that the combined treatment coordinated osmotic adjustment, carbon allocation, glutathione/ascorbate-associated redox buffering, and phenylpropanoid-related defense. These results indicate that co-application of PGPR and MT can improve the salt tolerance of maize seedlings under controlled hydroponic NaCl stress.
SN - 1017-7825
SN - 1738-8872
ER -