Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Bacterial and Fungal Isolates Associated with the Rhizosphere of Healthy and Diseased Solanum lycopersicum

Tomato is a significant vegetable grown for its essential vitamins and antioxidant-producing potential. The rhizosphere microbes of plants are involved in promoting plant growth through increased availability of nutrients and improving the health status of the plants. This study was designed to explore the bacteria and fungi dwelling in the rhizospheric soil samples of healthy and diseased tomato plants employing a culture-dependent approach. Bacterial and fungal communities were isolated from the rhizosphere soil obtained from tomato plants by culture-dependent techniques. The biochemical and molecular characterizations were conducted on the isolates using 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequencing for the isolated bacterial and fungal isolates, respectively. The results revealed that various species of Bacillus and Streptomyces were obtained for ten bacterial isolates while species of Trichoderma, Purpureocillium, Mortierella, Chaetomidium, and Mortierella were obtained for five fungal isolates. The results further revealed that the microorganisms were greater in healthy tomato plants’ soil samples than in the diseased tomato rhizosphere. The prevalence of bacterial and fungal species revealed the importance of these rhizospheric microbes and how they contribute to enhancing the growth and productivity of tomato plants.