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Graminaceous plants secrete hydroxylated phytosiderophores encoded by the genes iron-deficiency-specific clone 2 (Ids2) and iron-deficiency-specific clone 3 (Ids3). An effort was made to identify a putative ortholog of Hodeum vulgare Ids3gene in hexaploid wheat. The protein structure of TaIDS3 was modeled using homology modeling and structural behavior of modeled structure was analyzed at 20 ns. The simulation trajectory using molecular dynamics simulation suggested the model to be stable with no large fluctuations in residues and local domain level RMSF values (< 2.4 Å). In addition, the ProFunc results also predict the functional similarity between the proteins of HvIDS3 and its wheat ortholog (TaIDS3). The TaIds3gene was assigned to the telomeric region of chromosome arm 7AS which supports the results obtained through bioinformatics analysis. The relative expression analysis of TaIds3indicated that the detectable expression of TaIds3is induced after 5th day of Fe starvation and increases gradually up to 15th day, and thereafter, it decreases until 35th day of Fe-starvation. This reflects that Fe deficiency directly regulates the induction of TaIds3in the roots of hexaploid wheat. The identification of HvIds3-like gene in wheat has opened up new opportunities to enhance the nutrient quality in wheat through biofortification program.

Three bacteria namely Bacillus luciferensisK2, Bacillus amyloliquefaciensK12 and Bacillus subtilisBioCWB possessing plant growth promotion and biocontrol potential against phytopathogens and rice leaf folder were identified from organic soils of Sikkim, India. The results revealed significant higher production of phytohormones IAA (97.1 μg mL−1) and GA3(10.6 μg mL−1) was found in K2, whereas BioCWB had higher phosphate solubilization (570.0 μg mL−1) efficacy and also possessed nitrogen fixation ability (5.34 log copy number mL−1culture). All these bacteria had higher antagonistic activities against phytopathogens viz. Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium proliferatum, Athelia rolfsiiand Colletotrichum gloeosporioidesand also had higher larvicidal activity against rice leaf folder Cnaphalocrocis medinalis(Guenne) under in vitro conditions. Molecular insights into the antagonistic mechanisms of Bacillusstrains deciphered the presence of several antimicrobial peptides (ericin, subtilin, surfactin, iturin, bacilysin, subtilosin, fengycin and bacillomycin), volatiles (dimethyl disulphide, methyl-Furan, acetic acid, Z-1,3-pentadiene and 3-hexyn-2-ol) and soluble metabolites (9-octadecenamide, E-15-heptadecenal, E-3-eicosene and 5-octadecene). Furthermore, liquid microbial inoculum prepared using the bacterial strains (K2, K12 and BioCWB) were evaluated under glass house (rice) and field condition (capsicum), which significantly enhanced plant growth in rice and yield in capsicum compared to control. The present study revealed the combination of Bacillusspp. (K2, K12 and BioCWB) can be used as bio-inoculants for improving agricultural production in Sikkim. Moreover, for the first time, we demonstrated plant growth promoting (PGP) traits, antifungal and insecticidal properties of B. luciferensis.