Bacillus subtilis JW1 enhances plant growth and nutrient uptake of Chinese cabbage through gibberellins secretion

In the present study, we have isolated rhizospheric bacteria JW1 from rice paddy in Andong, South Korea. The culture filtrate (CF) analysis of JW1 showed higher contents of gibberellins GA₁, GA₄, GA₇, organic acids, fatty acids and tricalcium phosphates. The 16S rDNA gene sequencing and phylogentic analysis revealed that the strain JW1 has a 99% homology with Bacillus subtilis sequences from BLAST search.The growth promotion capability of the strain JW1 was initially assessed on Waito-C and Whayoung-beyo rice cultivars, which improved the growth attributes of the rice cultivars. Similarly, a significant increase in plant height, biomass, chlorophyll contents and nutrient uptake have been noticed, when the Chinese cabbage was treated with JW1 strain. From the results, it is concluded that the integrative use of B. subtilis JW1 can promote plant growth by secreting bioactive compounds. Therefore, B. subtilis JW1 may be utilized as an eco-friendly bio-fertilizer in the agricultural fields after successful field trials.