Understanding the metabolic mechanisms stimulated by plant-associated bacteria to enhance cold tolerance in tomato plants

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of mild winters and warm springs, which can induce premature plant development. This premature development results in a high risk of exposure of young plant tissues to cold stress leading to severe reductions in plant growth and agricultural production. Plants are associated with complex bacterial communities that can activate acclimation processes and positively affect plant performance at low temperatures. Beneficial effects of plant colonization by cold-tolerant bacteria include the modulation of cold-related genes and the reduction in cellular damage under cold stress, but scarce information is available on mechanisms stimulated by bacterial endophytes in tomato plants against cold stress. The aims of this work were i) to analyze the taxonomy and potential functions of plant-associated microbial communities in cold regions, ii) to understand metabolic changes stimulated by cold-tolerant endophytic bacteria in tomato plants exposed to cold stress, and iii) to identify possible genomic traits of cold-tolerant endophytic bacteria responsible for plant growth promotion and cold stress mitigation. The first chapter includes an introduction on cold stress and acclimation processes in plants, and the second chapter defines the aims of the project. In the third chapter, the taxonomic and functional characterization of plant-associated microbial communities of alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic regions was reviewed, highlighting the main environmental factors affecting their taxonomic structure. e. The key findings of this chapter are the functional roles of microbial communities in plant growth and survival in cold environments, and the suggestion of potential biotechnological applications of ubiquitous and endemic cold-tolerant microorganisms. In the fourth chapter, metabolic changes stimulated by cold-tolerant endophytic bacteria in tomato plants exposed to cold stress were studied by metabolomic analyses, and compounds possibly associated with cold stress mitigation were found. 14 Tomato seeds were inoculated with two bacterial endophytes isolated from Antarctic Colobanthus quitensis plants (Ewingella sp. S1.OA.A_B6 and Pseudomonas sp. S2.OTC.A_B10) or with Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN, while mock-inoculated seeds were used as control. The metabolic composition of tomato plants was analyzed immediately after cold stress exposure (4°C for seven days) or after two and four days of recovery at 25°C. Under cold stress, the content of malondialdehyde, phenylalanine, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid was lower in bacterium-inoculated compared to mock-inoculated plants, indicating a reduction of lipid peroxidation and the stimulation of phenolic compound metabolism. The content of two phenolic compounds, five putative phenylalanine-derived dipeptides, and three further phenylalanine-derived compounds was higher in bacterium-inoculated compared to mock-inoculated samples under cold stress. Thus, the presented work suggests that psychrotolerant endophytic bacteria can reprogram polyphenol metabolism and stimulate the accumulation of secondary metabolites, like 4-hydroxybenzoic and salicylic acid, which are involved in cold stress mitigation, and phenylalanine-derived dipeptides possibly involved in plant stress responses. In the fifth chapter, functional and genomic traits of Ewingella sp. S1.OA.A_B6 and Pseudomonas sp. S2.OTC.A_B10 were studied. In the framework of the present study, Ewingella sp., Pseudomonas sp., and the bacterial consortium showed plant growth-promoting activity on tomato seedlings at low temperatures. Ammonia was produced by both bacterial isolates and their consortium, while indole-3-acetic acid and proteases were produced by Ewingella sp. and Pseudomonas sp., respectively. Ewingella sp. and Pseudomonas sp. genomes (51.57% and 60.63% guanine-cytosine, 4,148 and 5,983 predicted genes, respectively) encompassed genes related to amino acid metabolism, plant hormone metabolism (auxin, cytokinins, ethylene, and salicylic acid), nitrogen metabolism, lytic activities (amylases, cellulases, and proteases). Traits related to plant growth promotion included genes for iron transport, phosphate metabolism, potassium transport, siderophore metabolism and 15 transport, and zinc transport. Moreover, Ewingella sp. and Pseudomonas sp. encompassed genes related to cold tolerance, such as cold shock and heat shock-related proteins, lipid desaturases, and genes related to polyamine metabolism, proline metabolism, proline and glycine betaine transport, reactive oxygen species detoxification, and trehalose metabolism. Thus, in this chapter, it was discovered that Antarctic cold-tolerant endophytes include multiple genomic and functional traits to survive under cold conditions and some of them can contribute to promote the host plant growth at low temperatures. These findings indicate that plant-associated bacteria of cold regions have a great biotechnological potential to mitigate cold stress in crop plants. In particular, Antarctic bacterial endophytes encompass genomic traits responsible for plant growth promotion and protection against cold stress, and they can mitigate cold stress in tomato plants by a complex reprogramming of plant metabolism. Although further metabolomic and functional studies are required to verify compound annotations and to better clarify the role of phenylalanine-derived compounds and phenylalanine-derived dipeptides in cold stress mitigation, these results provided a better understanding of metabolic changes stimulated by psychrotolerant endophytic bacteria in cold-stressed tomato plants. Thus, the validation of cold stress mitigation activated by psychrotolerant endophytic bacteria under field conditions will pave the way for the further development of endophytic bacterial inoculants as sustainable products to protect crops against cold stress.