Role of EPS produced by Brevundimonas faecalis BC1 in enhancing heat and drought stress tolerance in Salvia hispanica and Vigna radiata Microgreens

^1,2 Department of Biotechnology, GIET University, Gunupur, Odisha, India
³ Department of Zoology, S.C.S. Autonomous College, Puri, Odisha, India

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Drought and heat are the major abiotic factors that can cause yield loss in major agricultural crops and pose a big threat worldwide. These stresses disrupt plant homeostasis by causing oxidative damage to them and lowering water holding potential. Microgreens are very particularly vulnerable to these stresses due to their shallow root and high metabolic activity, which lead to reduce in nutritional value and total biomass. In this study, EPS from Brevundimonas faecalis BC1 was used as a protective agent in Salvia hispanica and Vigna radiata microgreens under drought and heat-stressed conditions. 2% EPS added to the growth media of the microgreens and five experimental setups has been prepared as control, heat stress, drought stress, EPS + heat stress, and EPS + drought stress. The bacterial EPS from Brevundimonas faecalis BC1 enhanced the resilience of Salvia hispanica and Vigna radiata microgreens to thermal and drought stress. The treated seedlings exhibited superior water retention, enhanced root and shoot development, and reduced stress-related damage compared to untreated plants and suggests that EPS facilitated the establishment of immature seedlings by creating a more favourable microenvironment around the roots and mitigating the adverse effects of abiotic stress. Its hygroscopic and adhesive properties may have preserved moisture and physiological stability in unfavourable situations. From this analysis, it is identified that, EPS can act as a biostimulant and can enhance drought and heat stress tolerance capability of microgreens.