Plant growth-promoting bacteria for enhancing drought stress tolerance

Drought is a multidimensional stress that affects plants at various levels of organization. The use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) has emerged as a highly promising alternative to enhance agricultural production under abiotic stress conditions, mainly due to their low cost and reduced environmental impact. Among PGPB, the genus Bacillus has stood out for its multifunctional characteristics in promoting plant growth. This study aimed to characterize the genome of five Bacillus strains from the Multifunctional Microorganism Collection of Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, isolated from the Caatinga biome, to predict plant growth-promoting traits, especially those related to drought stress tolerance.