Isolation and Characterization of Haloalkaliphilic Bacteria from the Rhizosphere of Dichanthium annulatum

Abstract

phytes is a crucial determinant of plant health and productivity. The main objective of this study is the identification and characterization of haloalkaliphilic bacteria from the rhizosphere, rhizoplane and root endosphere of D. annulatum collected from Khewra Salt Mine, Pakistan. A total of 41 bacterial strains were isolated and identified on the basis of morphological and biochemical characterization. Twenty two strains were selected for phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. About 41% bacterial strains were identified as different species of Bacillus. Exiguobacterium, Kocuria, Citricoccus and Staphylococcus were dominant genera identified in this study. Most of the bacterial strains characterized in this study were alkaliphilic, moderately halophilic and mesophilic in nature. Mostly strains were considered as a good source of hydrolytic enzymes because of their ability to degrade proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. Results for screening of hydrolytic enzymes showed that more than 90% strains had ability to produce at least three enzymes screened in this study. These results showed that haloalkaliphilic bacterial diversity identified in this study had great biotechnological potential.