Researchers developed a scoring system to identify the best 'prebiotic' supplements for soil bacteria, finding that palmitic acid, proline, and glucose help beneficial microbes colonize plant roots more effectively — boosting seedling growth and helping maize cope with salt stress.
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Screening 12 prebiotic candidates using four measurable bacterial traits (motility, chemotaxis, growth rate, and generation time) identified palmitic acid, proline, and glucose as top performers.
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Plants treated with top-ranked prebiotics showed enhanced salt stress tolerance, including reduced leaf electrolyte leakage and increased chlorophyll and proline accumulation.
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The prebiotic-boosted bacterial communities significantly improved root colonization and soil enzyme activity in maize seedlings compared to controls.
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