Plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium, Paenibacillus polymyxa CR1, upregulates dehydration-responsive genes, RD29A and RD29B, during priming drought tolerance in arabidopsis

In recent decades, drought has become a global problem for food security and agricultural production. A variety of strategies have been developed to enhance drought tolerance, but largely unsuccessful since most drought-responsive genes (DRGs) stimulate a stomata closure and in turn suppress plant growth and yield. To access if and/or how plants could enhance drought tolerance without trading off growth and development, we screened and isolated a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium, Paenibacillus polymyxa CR1, capable of 1) priming drought tolerance and concurrently 2) increasing root growth in plants, e.g., Arabidopsis and soybean. In parallel, we uncovered that P. polymyxa CR1 3) induces the expression of two DRGs, Response to Desiccation (RD)29A and RD29B, 4) of which pattern upregulations are controlled by a diurnal rhythm. Besides, RD29A and RD29B act as 5) ‘memory’ genes; their transcript levels are increased to a greater extent when plants encountered P. polymyxa CR1 for the second time compared to an initial exposure. In line with these findings, T-DNA insertion mutant Arabidopsis of RD29A or RD29B displayed enhanced susceptibility to drought, without any change in stomata behaviors or growth rates, than wild-type plants. Hence, we conclude that RD29A or RD29B are unique, efficacious generic materials that can potentially aid in upgrading the plants own survival capacity against drought without reducing yield potential.