Title
Characterization of Desertihabitans sp. FB5, a halophyte associated Actinomycetes producing phytohormones
Authors
Fehmida Bibi1,3,*, Muhammad Imran Naseer2,3, Peter Natesan Pushparaj2,3, Absarul Haque3,4 & Esam Ibraheem Azhar1,3
Affiliation
1Special Infectious Agents Unit–BSL3, King Fahd Medical Research Centre, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; 2Institute of Genomic Medicine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; 4King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21859, Saudi Arabia; *Corresponding author
Fehmida Bibi - E-mail: fnaseer@kau.edu.sa
Muhammad Imran Naseer - E-mail: minaseer@kau.edu.sa
Peter Natesan Pushparaj - E-mail: pnatesan@kau.edu.sa
Absarul Haque - E-mail: mhaque@kau.edu.sa
Esam Ibraheem Azhar - E-mail: eazhar@kau.edu.sa
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received October 1, 2025; Revised November 15, 2025; Accepted November 15, 2025, Published November 15, 2025
Abstract
Halophytes are remarkable plants that have evolved unique strategies to thrive in saline environments. Microbial communities of halophytes are being studied extensively as potential sources of bioactive compounds. Therefore, it is of interest to identify the secondary metabolites of the rhizospheric bacterial Desertihabitans sp. FB5 from the halophyte Salsola Imbricata. Strain Desertihabitans sp. FB5 was identified using a molecular technique (16S rDNA) and showed a similarity of 99% to Desertihabitans aurantiacus CPCC 204711T. Antifungal activity of the strain was tested against five different pathogenic fungi: Fusarium moniliforme, Altenaria mali, Magnaporthe grisea, Phytophthora capsici and Pythium ultimum in an in vitro assay. Desertihabitans sp. FB5 showed weak-to-moderate inhibition of different pathogenic fungi tested in the inhibitory assay. The production of lytic enzymes was evaluated using different enzymatic activities. Desertihabitans sp. FB5 was positive for both cellulolytic and lipolytic activities. To detect bioactive metabolites, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were performed. Both analyses showed the presence of the antimicrobial compound bacitracin and phytohormones, Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and Gibberellin A3 (GA3) in the culture extracts of strain. Our results demonstrated that halophytes are recognised as key source of potent bacterial strains capable of producing metabolites of industrial and medical significance.
Keywords
Halophyte, 16S rRNA gene sequence, Desertihabitans sp. FB5, bioactive compounds, mass spectrometry
Citation
Bibi et al. Bioinformation 21(11): 4065-4071 (2025)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
