Whole genome analysis of Enterobacter cloacae Rs-2 and screening of genes related to plant-growth promotion

Abstract The genus Enterobacter is widely recognized for its biotechnology potential in improving soil environment and crop growth promoting. To further explore these biotechnological potentials, we sequenced and analyzed the whole genome of Enterobacter cloacae Rs-2. The analysis showed that the total length of Rs-2 genome was 6,965,070,514 bp, GC content was 55.80%; The annotation results of GO and COG databases showed that the genome contains a variety of growth-promoting genes, such as iscU, glnA, glnB (nitrogen fixation); iucABCD (siderophore synthesis) and fepA, fcuA, fhuA, and pfeA, etc. (siderophore transport); ipdC (secreted IAA) and gcd, pqqBCDEF (dissolved phosphorus), etc. The application of Rs-2 as a soil inoculant in the pot experiment increased the average fresh weight of radish shoots and roots by 65.76% and 71.60%, respectively, the length of roots increased by 68.33%, and the chlorophyll content in the leaves also increased effectively. In addition, the total phosphorus content of shoots and roots was increased by 20.0% and 32.8%, respectively. This study proved the plant growth-promoting ability of Rs-2 at the molecular level through genetic screening and analysis, which provided guidance for the further improvement of the strain, and laid a foundation for its application in agricultural production.