CHARACTERIZATION OF ENDOPHYTIC Paenibacillus polymyxa STRAIN K19 FROM Urtica dioica AS PGPB

This work investigates the performance of endophytic bacterial strains of Urtica dioca as a growth-promoting bacteria and biocontrol agent. The obtained results indicated that the strain of K19 isolated from U. dioica root, allowed to fix nitrogen and produce IAA. A conventional test indicated that K19 behaved in the same way as the Paenibacillaceae family. Molecular identification using sequence analysis of 16S rRNA showed that K19 exhibited higher similarity, to the Paenibacillus polymyxa strain IGS117. The isolate K19 was unable to solubilize the calcium triphosphate, but, was able to antagonize a wide spectrum of phytopathogenic fungus. The K19 has also shown the ability to improve the development of the tomato root system by 36.36%. This study revealed characteristics, of Paenibacillus polymyxa K19 which, consequently, merit confirming its potential importance as a PGPB.