# Pseudomonas sp. F204 Promoted Tomato Growth and Altered Rhizosphere Bacteria Community

## TL;DR

A Pseudomonas strain called F204 helps tomato plants grow better by breaking down harmful DNA in soil and changing the bacteria around the roots.

## Contribution

This study identifies a novel eDNA-degrading Pseudomonas strain that promotes plant growth and alters rhizosphere bacterial communities.

## Key findings

- Pseudomonas sp. F204 showed the strongest eDNA-degradation ability among over 600 strains.
- Inoculation with Pseudomonas sp. F204 significantly altered the tomato rhizosphere bacterial community.
- The strain stimulated tomato seedling growth and exhibited plant-growth-promoting traits.

## Abstract

Extracellular DNA (eDNA), as a potential plant autotoxin, can cause soil sickness, negatively affecting plant growth and reducing crop yield. Some microbial taxa can degrade eDNA; however, the effect of these bacteria on plant growth and rhizosphere microbial communities is unknown. In this study, eDNA-degrading bacterial strains were screened from soils, and their eDNA-degrading ability and plant-growth-promoting characteristics were tested in vitro. The effects of the most potent eDNA-degrading strain on tomato plant growth were assessed, and changes in the rhizosphere bacterial community were analyzed using high-throughput amplicon sequencing. Among a total of more than 600 isolated strains, Pseudomonas sp. F204 showed the strongest eDNA-degradation capacity and exhibited phosphate solubilization, siderophore, and indole-3-acetic acid production abilities. Pot experiment showed that inoculation of Pseudomonas sp. F204 significantly altered tomato rhizosphere bacterial community structure and composition, and stimulated the growth of tomato seedlings. Overall, this study shows that eDNA-degrading bacteria can alter rhizosphere bacterial community and promote plant growth, and highlights the important role of soil microbial community in alleviating autotoxicity in continuous cropping systems.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00284-025-04278-y.