Abstract
Halophiles are a class of microorganisms that thrive in environments with very high salt concentrations. The coastal regions of Saurashtra Gujarat host a diverse group of microorganisms including halophilic and halotolerant bacteria that may have plant growth promoting characteristics. Microorganisms with plant growth promoting characteristics are of immense importance in the field of agriculture and the present study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of halophilic and halotolerant bacteria isolated from agricultural soils of coastal regions of Junagadh and Porbandar districts of Saurashtra, Gujarat. A total of 15 isolated strains showed indole acetic acid production, solubilization of phosphate and potash, and nitrogen fixing capacity ranging from 18.77-33.48 μg ml(-1), 50.10-106.10%, 180.42-239.92% and 0.170-0.480 g kg(-1) of Jensen's agar medium, respectively, while two isolates were also found positive for siderophore production. Besides, nine out of fifteen isolates also showed positive ACC deaminase activity ranging from 0.92-5.78 µM α-ketobutyrate mg(-1) h(-1). The isolates were further characterized by physiological, microscopic, and biochemical tests. The halophilic and halotolerant bacterial isolates were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as belonging to Halomonas pacifica, H. stenophila, and Bacillus haynesii, B. licheniformis and Oceanobacillus aidingensis respectively. The 16S rRNA partial gene sequence of two isolates belonging to H. pacifica and H. stenophila were submitted to NCBI with accession number MK955347 and MK961217 respectively. The findings of the present investigation showed that isolated bacterial halophiles possess promising plant growth promoting characteristics. Their potential as bioinoculants to alleviate salinity stress in crops and for bioremediation deserves further investigation.