Soil Microbiome Improves Salinity Tolerance in Rice by Enhancing Chlorophyll Content and Photosynthetic Performance

Salinity is one of the most destructive abiotic stresses limiting rice productivity worldwide. The present study investigates the role of the native soil microbiome in enhancing salinity tolerance of the salt-sensitive Oryza sativa ssp. japonica cv. Nipponbare. Plants were grown under control (0 mM NaCl) and salinity (75 mM NaCl) conditions with microbiome presence (Mb⁺) or absence (Mb⁻). Growth parameters, pigment composition, and gas-exchange traits were quantified, followed by correlation, ra