Biotechnological potential of Bacillus sp. S26 for alleviation of abiotic and biotic stresses in vine

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is one of the most cultivated fruit plants in the world. Vineyard growers apply copper-based products in these crops to prevent fungal diseases, generating worries about Cu contamination in soils and food. In this context, this study identifies prokaryotic communities associated with grapevine plants grown under different levels of Cu-contaminated soils. Moreover, the study isolates new bacteria to improve Cu resistance in plants. Soil Cu content correlated inversely with operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to the groups Acidobacteria (SubGroup 2), Latescibacteria, Pedosphaeraceae, and Candidatus Udaeobacter. A total of 14 new bacterial isolates were obtained from copper-contaminated soils. These isolates produced Indolic Compounds (IC) in a range of 25 to 96 µg mL− 1, highlighting bacterial strains S20 and S26 as the highest producers. These new bacteria also produced siderophores, highlighting strains S19 and S26, which removed 58 and 59% of Fe ions from the CAS complex, respectively. From the in vitro antagonistic activity against Colletotrichum spp. strains, the authors identified some bacterial strains that inhibited phytopathogen growth. Bacterial strain Bacillus sp. S26 was chosen for inoculation experiments in grapevine plants. This bacterial isolate improved the growth of grapevine plants in Cu-contaminated soils. However, growth promotion did not occur in unstressed plants. More studies are necessary for developing a new bioinoculant containing S26 cells aiming to reduce biotic and abiotic stresses in grapevine.