Abstract
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can enhance plant performance and plant tolerance to environmental stresses. Arabidopsis thaliana is a useful organism to study the mechanisms involved in plant-PGPR interactions. We analyzed multiple plant traits related to growth dynamics, development and physiology in order to assess the effects of Phyllobacterium brassicacearum STM196 strain, isolated from the rhizosphere of oilseed rape, on Arabidopsis responses to welldefined soil water availability. Using powerful tools for phenotyping, we developed a new highthroughput analysis to examine the implication of STM196 on plant strategies to cope with water stress. Our results show for the first time that PGPR can interfere in escape strategies of plants through modifications in plant growth and flowering time. Moreover, STM196 induced a better resistance to moderate water deficit and a better tolerance to dehydration under a severe stress. Inoculation by STM196 can represent an added value to plant resistance strategies, as illustrated by its remarkable ability to promote plant survival and biomass production under contrasted environments. Our results highlight the importance of plant-bacteria interactions in plant responses to drought and provide a new avenue of investigations to improve drought resistance in crops