A study on bioactive potential of Serratia marcescens from marine environment

Marine microorganisms are diverse and excessively incompatible from the terrestrial counterparts, making them a great promising tool for biotechnological applications in the area of agriculture, health, and environment. This research study mainly focused on a novel strain Serratia marcescens MBBTBC9 from marine environment. The characterization of Serratia marcescens MBBTBC9 revealed its tolerance profile against various abiotic stresses like temperature in the range of 4–50 °C, 0.5 %- 7 % NaCl concentration and pH between 7 and –13 and heavy metals with a maximum resistance level of 500 ppm against lead and copper. Atomic absorption spectroscopy elucidated the ability of S. marcescens in the removal of heavy metals. Plant growth promoting ability of S. marcescens MBBTBC9 assessed using Vigna unguiculata, the common crop cultivated in different states of India, it significantly enhanced seed germination, seedling vigour, seedling emergence and growth enhancement in both plate and pot assay. Thus, this study discloses the biological potential of S. marcescens MBBTBC9 to be a promising stress tolerant plant growth promoting marine bacterium.