{
  "id": 16837522,
  "title": "Azospirillum brasilense and cytidine as combination treatment to enhance drought resilience of peas",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/azospirillum-brasilense-and-cytidine-as-combination-treatment-to",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.26.761419v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers investigated the potential benefits of using the microbe Azospirillum brasilense in combination with cytidine or total pea seedling exudate to improve the drought resilience of pea plants. The study found that the treatment with cytidine, labeled as ACyt, was more effective than the seedling exudate treatment (AEx) in enhancing drought tolerance.\n\nPeas treated with ACyt showed a 68.9% increase in drought tolerance compared to those treated with the inoculant alone (A). Moreover, the dry shoot weight of ACyt-drought plants was 30.7% higher than the untreated control group (NB). Additionally, drought recovery of ACyt plants was 21.6% better than that of the control group.\n\nThe researchers conducted a 16S rDNA analysis to understand the changes in the rhizosphere that accompanied the increase in drought tolerance and recovery. They found that the abundance of Azospirillum brasilense was 163% higher in ACyt plants during drought conditions compared to watered groups. The abundance of Azospirillum sp. was 954% higher in plants from the ACyt Drought group than those from the NB Drought group, suggesting that ACyt treatment may help protect pea plants from drought by increasing the abundance of Azospirillum.\n\nThe analysis of the 16S rDNA data set revealed that both ACyt Drought and AEx Drought groups experienced similar increases in Shannon and Pielou alpha-diversity indices compared to the NB Drought group. Both treatments also led to high abundances of Rhizobium and lower abundances of Massilia.\n\nIn conclusion, the combination treatment of Azospirillum brasilense and cytidine (ACyt) effectively enhanced drought tolerance and recovery in pea plants. Both treatments also increased alpha-diversity and modulated the rhizosphere, suggesting that ACyt could be a promising strategy for improving drought resilience in peas.",
  "summary": "Aims: This study tested the efficacy of two combination treatments on drought resistance of peas; Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 together with either the chemoattractant seedling exudate compound cytidine or total pea seedling exudate. Methods and Results: Phenotypic characterization revealed that the treatment with cytidine (ACyt) was more efficient than that with seedling exudate (AEx). Drought…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}