LAUSR

Plant growth reduction caused by osmotic stress, pathogens, and nutrient scarcity can be overcome by inoculation with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Knowing the effects of PGPR on the microbial community beyond those on plant growth can bring new options of soil microbiota management. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of inoculation with the newly described Pseudomonas aestus CMAA 1215 T [a 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase and glycine-betaine producer] on the rhizosphere bacterial community of Zea mays in natural (non-salinized) and saline soil. The bacterial community structure was assessed by sequencing the V6–V7 16S ribosomal RNA using the Ion Personal Genome Machine ™ . The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) of the OTU profile (ANOSIM P  < 0.01) distinguishes all the treatments (with and without inoculation under saline and natural soils). Inoculated samples shared 1234 OTUs with non-inoculated soil. The most abundant classes in all samples were Alphaproteobacteria , Gammaproteobacteria , Actinobacteria , Acidobacteriia , Bacteroidia , Thermoleophilia , Verrucomicrobiae , Ktenodobacteria, and Bacilli . The inoculation, on the other hand, caused an increase in the abundance of the genera Bacillus , Bryobacter , Bradyrhizobium , “ Candidatus Xiphinematobacter”, and “ Candidatus Udaeobacter” independent of soil salinization. “ Candidatus Udaeobacter” has the largest Mean Decrease in Gini Values with higher abundance on inoculated salted soil. In addition, Pseudomonas inoculation reduced the abundance of Gammaproteobacteria and Phycisphaerae . Understanding how inoculation modifies the bacterial community is essential to manage the rhizospheric microbiome to create a multi-inoculant approach and to understand its effects on ecological function.