Alleviation of salt stress in winter wheat by Pantoea spp. endophytes isolated from spontaneous desert plants of the Sahara

To develop bio-fertilizers for salt stress mitigation in winter wheat, 5 Pantoea spp. strains isolated from spontaneous plants of the Algerian Sahara were selected and identified based on the 16S rRNA gene, and distinguished at the "strain" level by the IGS sequences. A plant test (greenhouse condition, non-sterile substrate) showed their effectiveness in promoting the growth of winter wheat cv. Goldkorn, under normal and saline conditions. An improvement of shoot length (no stress: up to +37% for Pantoea sp. BS27; salt stress at 200 mM: up to +33% for Pantoea sp. BS27) and dry weight (no stress: up to +24% for Pantoea sp. OT18; salt stress at 100 mM: up to +56% for Pantoea sp. ME3; salt stress at 200 mM: up to 39% for Pantoea sp. OT18) was recorded. The current study suggests the Pantoea spp. strains ME3, OT37, and OT18 as promising inocula for yield improvement in salt-impacted soils.