Aim The main aim of this work was to examine the plant growth promoting, biocontrol activities and stress competency of grass pea rhizobacterial strains from Ethiopia. Methods and Results Serial dilutions were carried out to isolate rhizobacterial strains from the rhizosphere soil samples. The isolates were characterized for their plant growth promoting, biocontrolling and stress tolerance potential. The isolates that showed better performance in the tested parameters were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Among the isolates tested on Pikovskaya agar medium, 22 isolates that showed solubilization index of >2·41 cm were selected for further screening tests. Isolate AAUGPR-53 identified as Enterococcus species, Enterococcus casseliflavus strain showed the highest phosphate solubilization index and indole-3-acetic acid production efficiency of 4·81 ± 0·02 (μg ml⁻¹) and 56·55 ± 0·45 (μg ml⁻¹), respectively. Sixteen (72·7%) of the isolates showed in vitro antifungal inhibition against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lentis with isolates AAUGPR-92 and AAUGPR-91 identified as Enterococcus species, E. casseliflavus strain and Enterococcus gallinarum strain exhibiting the highest inhibition of 83 and 78%, respectively. Likewise, 68·2%, 91·30%, 45·5%, 77·3% and 100% of the isolates produced chitinase, protease, cellulase, HCN and NH₃, respectively. Most of the isolates showed good tolerance to the tested stress factors. The 16S rRNA partial sequencing of the rhizobacterial isolates proved their taxonomic position in the existing bacterial isolates. Conclusion The results indicated that three strains, AAUGPR-53, 91 and 92, that showed maximum sequence identity (99%) to Enterococcus species, E. casseliflavus and E. gallinarum were recommended as microbial inoculants for trials under greenhouse and field conditions. Significance and Impact of the Study This study illustrates an effective alternative to conventional fertilizers that may contribute to crop disease reduction. Our results provide a foundation for future research that will lead to identifying potentially useful biocontrol strains found in the rhizosphere of grass pea.

This study aimed at screening rhizobial isolates of chickpea and evaluating their symbiotic nitrogen fixation efficiency and tolerance to abiotic stresses. A total of 107 (100) isolates were collected of which 52 (48.6) were confirmed as chickpea rhizobia using preliminary tests. Among 52 (48.6) isolates, 46 (88.5) have induced nodulation on chickpea under greenhouse and were screened under in vitro conditions and 6 (11.5) of them were discarded due to fail to nodulate. The greenhouse data showed the highest nodule number (68.67 plant⁻¹), nodule dry weight (0.17g plant⁻¹), and shoot dry weight (0.81g plant⁻¹) were scored by plants inoculated with isolates WUCR 17, WUCR 1, and WUCR 66, respectively. Among authenticated isolates, 73.9, 21.7, and 4.3 were highly effective, effective, and lowly effective, respectively. The physiological test showed 15 of isolates tolerated 13 salt concentration and 10.9 of isolates grew at pH 410 range. All isolates grew at 2035°C and 13 grew at maximum temperature (50°C). The isolates showed better resistance to the tested antibiotics at low concentration (2.5μg/ml) but the majorities were sensitive at high concentration (10μg/ml). Among the isolates, 13 tolerated all tested heavy metals but 48 were sensitive to mercury. Regarding the carbohydrate utilization test, 52.2 catabolized all the tested 11 carbon sources but 6.5 of them utilized only 63.6 carbon sources. Amino acid utilization showed isolates (85) utilized D-alanine except WUCR (14, 25, 31, 34, 39, 59, and 76) and 76 of the isolates utilized arginine and phenylalanine and 74 utilized leucine as a nitrogen source. Of the isolates, 43.5 of them utilized both D-alanine and arginine as a nitrogen source. In almost all tests conducted, isolates WUCR 1 and 5 performed top and were recommended as potential candidates for microbial inoculants.

Plant Growth Promoting and Abiotic Stress Tolerant Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Rhizobial Isolates from Some Areas of South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) is an important pulse crop prized for its high protein content and is grown as a food source worldwide, including Ethiopia. However, the yield of chickpea is low due to low soil fertility and the ever-changing abiotic stresses. Therefore, this study aimed at isolation, characterization, and selection of chickpea rhizobia effective in their nitrogen fixation and abiotic stress tolerance potential. As a result, 150 nodule samples were collected from three districts of chickpea-producing areas in South Wollo. The nodules were crushed, and the rhizobia were isolated and characterized by using standard microbiological procedures. Based on the presumptive tests conducted, 103 (68.7) of the rhizobial isolates were tentatively categorized as Rhizobium species. Regarding phosphate solubilization, only 48 (46.7) solubilized phosphate with a solubilization index ranging from 2.1 to 2.7mm. Twenty-four (50) of the isolates were found to be hydrogen cyanide producers. Among the rhizobial isolates tested under greenhouse conditions, 37 (77.1) of them induced nodulation on their host plant (chickpea). Their symbiotic effectiveness evaluation test confirmed that 16(47.1), 6(17.6), 26.47, and 3(8.8) were highly effective, effective, low effective, and ineffective, respectively. Of the authenticated rhizobial isolates, 12 (35.5) of them, including WuCR-15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, and 48, accumulated higher shoot dry matter than the positive control. Isolates WuCR- 11, 17, and 36 showed resistance to low and high extreme abiotic stresses of pH, temperature, and salt. Consequently, rhizobial isolates, WuCR- 11, 17, and 36, which were effective and competent in all the tested parameters, were recommended as good rhizobial candidates for applications under greenhouse and field conditions.

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is an annual spice crop and cultivated throughout the world for it's multipurpose. Even though it has long history of cultivation and importance of fenugreek, the knowledge on its variability is limited. The purpose of the study was to assess the diversity of fenugreek using survey and field experiment study. For this objective, survey study conducted at both south and north Wollo zones. The study covered a total of 168 informants (84 men and 84 women) comprising 72 general informants and 12 key informants per zone aged between 19 and 75 years. According to survey study fenugreeks is an important crop with many uses like as spice, food, fodder, and to treat different diseases. They grow mostly on July with legumes like faba bean, chickpea, lentil, grass pea and field pea. The survey study indicated that in-terms variety there was only one variety. The field experiment was conducted using thirty six fenugreek genotypes (34 accessions and 2 released varieties) with 6x6 simple lattice designs at Wollo University. ANOVA revealed that there was highly significant (p < 0.001) difference among the thirty six genotypes for all studied traits except days to emergence. The present study revealed that high heritability with high genetic advance as percent of mean, respectively, showed for almost all the studied traits like, number of pods per plant (99.6 %, 97.7 %), number of seeds per pod (98.8 %, 84.2 %), number of primary branches per plant(98.5 %, 104.4 %), number of secondary branches per plant (98.3 %, 107.6), biomass yield (97.6 %, 59.9 %), plant height (94.6 %, 63 %), thousand seeds weight (92.6 %, 66.7 %), and pods length (91.5 %, 61.1 %). Generally, the study indicate that indigenous knowledge held by fenugreek farmers has to be documented and preserved in appropriate formats including in databases and the fenugreek can be improved through selection easily with considering the traits that show high variation with genetic advance for future breeding.

A. baumannii exhibits resilience in harsh environments and progressively develops resistance to diverse antibacterial agents over time. This adaptability poses a significant challenge in treating an infection caused by this bacterium within healthcare settings. The presence of peptidoglycan, a crucial precursor for cell wall synthesis, contributes to this challenge. Peptidoglycan serves not only as a structural support in bacterial cells but also provides protection against adverse environmental conditions. The synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer involves a group of substrates such as N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc), within a three-partitioned process occurring in the membrane, periplasmic space, and cytoplasm of each bacterium. Initiated in the cytoplasm and extending to the inner cell membrane, this synthesis starts with the production of nucleotide precursors. The first step involves the synthesis of UDP-GlcNAc, orchestrated by Glm (GlmS, GlmM, and GlmU) enzymes using fructose-6-phosphate. Subsequently, enzymes from the Mur family, namely MurB, MurA, MurD, MurC, MurI, MurF, and MurE, synthesize UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide (UDP-Mpp) from UDP-GlcNAc. Concurrently, on the cytosolic side, the production of membrane-surrounded undecaprenyl phosphate occurs, involving membrane-side proteins MraY and MurG in the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan. This review emphasizes updated information on Mur family proteins, encompassing physicochemical properties, nature of binding site, number and type of binding site residues, functional domain details, three-dimensional structural aspects, and their functions within bacterial cells. Special attention is directed towards their enzymatic role in peptidoglycan biosynthesis due to the limited availability of precursors in the market. Additionally, the review provides a comprehensive summary of existing inhibitors and ongoing efforts in identifying new targeted inhibitors, recognizing these enzymes as potential candidates for antibacterial drug design and discovery.