Resumen de Volatile organic compounds stimulate plant growing and seed germination of Lactuca sativa

P Fincheira, M Parada, A Quiroz

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by Bacillus species have been reported as growth inducers in Arabidopsis thaliana, but their effects on horticultural species have been scarcely studied. In this study, Lactuca sativa emerges as a model vegetable to evaluate VOCs release by Bacillus sp. BCT9. The results indicated that root length, dry weight, number of lateral root and shoot length increased after VOCs exposition. The initial application of 30 µL of BCT9 in Nutrient Agar (N-A) was the best dose to elicit growth; whereas 60 µL of BCT9 inoculated in Methyl Red & Voges Proskauer Agar (MRVP-A) and Murashige & Skoog Agar (MS-A) had a greater effect. It noteworthy that root development was higher when BCT9 was grown in MRVP-A than in the others culture medium. The identified VOCs released by BCT9 in MRVP-A were 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 2,3-butanediol, 2-nonanone, 2-undecanone, 2-tridecanone and 2-pentadecanone. Furthermore, the toxicity bioassays indicated that most VOCs did not have high toxic effects and some VOCs stimulated the growth at seed germination stage. In conclusion, this study suggests that VOCs can strongly modulate the L. sativa growth during germination and seedlings stages, so new explorations should be carried out in other vegetables to determine their effects.