A novel endophytic bacterial strain improves potato storage characteristics by degrading glycoalkaloids and regulating microbiota

Potatoes are one of the primary staple foods of human beings. However, improper storage of potatoes produces toxic glycoalkaloids (GAs), posing a severe threat to human health and accounting for huge worldwide economic losses each year. In this study, an efficient degrading bacterium Alkalihalobacillus clausii PA21, was isolated and identified from sprouted and green potato tubers, which could utilize GAs as its sole carbon source. Furthermore, the strain PA21 had excellent environment adaptability and high tolerance to GAs. The gene annotation showed that strain PA21 possessed glycoside hydrolase, which can effectively degrade α-solanine and α-chaconine. Additionally, the strain PA21 could colonize and degrade α-solanine in the potato tubers without affecting the nutritional composition. Meanwhile, the strain PA21 regulated the endophytic bacteria associated with accumulation of GAs. Overall, the strain PA21 is an efficient and reliable method for GAs degradation in potato tubers.