Acta Scientific AGRICULTURE (ISSN: 2581-365X) Volume 5 Issue 2 February 2021 Characterization of Bacillus weihenstephanensis AGII: A Psychrotolerant Bacteria Isolated from Rhizosphere of Medicinal Plant Gentiana kurroo Royle Neha Gautam 1 *, Pankaj Sharma 2 , JC Rana 3 and Mohar Singh 4 1 Department of Microbiology, St. Bede’s College, Navbahar Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India 2 Department of Botany, Govt. Degree College, Karsog, District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India 3 Division of Germplasm Evaluation, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, India 4 National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Regional Station, Phagli, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India *Corresponding Author: Neha Gautam, Department of Microbiology, St. Bede’s College Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. Research Article Received: November 02, 2020 Published: January 28, 2021 © All rights are reserved by Neha Gautam., et al. Abstract Introduction Gentiana kurroo Royale is a critically endangered plant of Western and North Western Himalaya. This drug plant is critical- ly endangered and is at high risk category as far as its survival is concerned due to its over exploitation habitat destruction and un- scrupulous collection [1]. To establish such plants in new environ- The beneficial bacteria present in the area around the plant roots. These are termed as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). These bacteria are useful to enhance plant growth and curb plant diseases. The objectives of the present study were to iso- late, identify and characterize PGPR traits in psychrotolerant bacteria native to rhizosphere of a threatened high valued medicinal plant Gentiana kurroo Royle. In total 10 bacterial isolates were isolated, out of which isolate AGII showed maximum antagonism against tested phytopathogens. Therefore, isolate AGII was selected further to study in vitro growth promoting attributes and for phylogenetic identification. Bacterial isolate AGII was identified as Bacillus weihenstephanensis by 16SrRNA gene sequence and has been registered in NCBI under the accession number MF593886. Plant growth promoting traits of this isolate were studied by per- forming following assays viz., Phosphate solubilization, Ammonia Production, HCN production, Protease production. The isolated bacterial strain was studied for its inhibitory potential against deadly plant pathogens by using a dual culture in vitro assay. In the present investigation, Bacillus weihenstephanensis MF593886 was tested against deadly plant pathogens viz., Alternaria solani MTCC 2101, Botrytis cinerea MTCC 2350, Fusarium oxysporum MTCC 7677, Rhizoctonia solani MTCC 4633, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides MTCC 9664 and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum MTCC 8785. It is capable to produce siderophore, HCN, ammonia, proteases and has a po- tential to solubilize phosphates. The present study proposes the potential of Bacillus weihenstephanensis as a PGPR in the context of cold agro-ecosystems. Keywords: Bacillus weihenstephanensis; Biofertilizers; Psychrotolerant; PGPR; Proteolysis; Siderophore ment, the study of their microflora is a must. In the present inves- tigation, soil associated with the roots of Gentianakurroo has been used for isolation of PGPR. These PGPR are the beneficial bacteria that assertively inhabit in vicinity or on plant roots and provides benefit to the plants by a variety of mechanisms viz. by fixing nitro- gen, making plant growth regulators, inhibiting phytopathogenic DOI: 10.31080/ASAG.2020.05.0949 Citation: Neha Gautam., et al. “Characterization of Bacillus weihenstephanensis AGII: A Psychrotolerant Bacteria Isolated from Rhizosphere of Medicinal Plant Gentiana kurroo Royle”. Acta Scientific Agriculture 5.2 (2021): 52-57.