Production of the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid by estuarine species of the genus Vibrio.

Strains of Vibrio spp. isolated from roots of the estuarine grasses Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus produce the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The colorimetric Salkowski assay was used for initial screening of IAA production. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) was then employed to confirm and quantify IAA production. The accuracy of IAA quantification by the Salkowski assay was examined by comparison to GC-MS assay values. Indole-3-acetamide, an intermediate in IAA biosynthesis by the indole-3-acetamide pathway, was also identified by GC-MS. Multilocus sequence typing of concatenated 16S rRNA, recA, and rpoA genes was used for phylogenetic analysis of environmental isolates within the genus Vibrio. Eight Vibrio type strains and five additional species-level clades containing a total of 16 environmental isolates and representing five presumptive new species were identified as IAA-producing Vibrio species. Six additional environmental isolates similar to four of the Vibrio type strains were also IAA producers. To our knowledge, this is the first report of IAA production by species of the genus Vibrio or by bacteria isolated from an estuarine environment.