Streptomyces spp. Biofilmed Solid Inoculant Improves Microbial Survival and Plant-Growth Efficiency of Triticum aestivum
, J. Jesús Robledo-Medrano 1, Juan José Valdez-Alarcón 2, Orlando Hernández-Cristobal 3, Héctor Eduardo MartÃnez-Flores 1,*, Jorge Francisco Cerna-Cortés 4, Ma. Guadalupe Garnica-Romo 5 and Raúl Cortés-MartÃnez 1,*
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
1- Some statements are without references. Add references to support these. I have added two references with a statement.
2- Introduction is too lengthy. Limit it to maximum of 3 paragraphs.
3- Number of references is too high i.e. 109. Reduce it to below 60. Maximum of 2 references are enough to support a statement.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
REVIEWER 1:
1. Some statements are without references. Add references to support these. I have added two references with a statement.
Answer: The suggested references were added to the manuscript at the indicated statement.
2. Introduction is too lengthy. Limit it to maximum of 3 paragraphs.
Answer: The Introduction section was significantly reduced, considering the crucial information needed to support the main objectives and discussion in the paper.
3. Number of references is too high i.e. 109. Reduce it to below 60. Maximum of 2 references are enough to support a statement.
Answer: The references were carefully revised and significantly reduced, considering their importance in the whole manuscript, especially in the Introduction and Results and Discussion sections.
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript by Domínguez-González et al is in the field of food production entitled Streptomyces spp. biofilmed-solid-inoculant improves the mi-2 crobial survival and the plant-growth efficiency of Triticum 3 aestivum.
I have some questions and comments.
Title: Is 'biofilmed' true in the title? I think it is not correct or conventional
abstract; The name for Streptomyces spp and T. aestivum should be written completely the first time.
Introduction: very very long!
Methods: please write the sources of materials and devices.
What was the magnification for the microscopic images??
What is the comment on lone 230/ please improve it and delete the comment.
Line 253: why did the author choose the Landa max of 480 nm for the ELISA spectrophotometer? And what was the time duration of it?
Results: Add magnification for microscopic images
Please specify the biofilms on SEM images. I could not detect them.
Please check the typo errors.
Author Response
REVIEWER 2:
The manuscript by Domínguez-González et al is in the field of food production entitled Streptomyces spp. biofilmed-solid-inoculant improves the microbial survival and the plant-growth efficiency of Triticum aestivum.
I have some questions and comments.
- Title: Is 'biofilmed' true in the title? I think it is not correct or conventional.
Answer: The term "biofilmed biofertilizer" or "biofilmed inoculant" was first used by Seneviratne et al. (2013) and has been used by more than 120 similar studies in recent years.
- Abstract; The name for Streptomyces spp and T. aestivum should be written completely the first time.
Answer: Both names were corrected and wholly written in the abstract, as requested.
- Introduction: very very long!
Answer: The Introduction section was substantially reduced, leaving only the essential information supporting the article's objectives and discussion.
- Methods: please write the sources of materials and devices.
Answer: The sources of non-standard reagents were indicated in the Materials and Methods section. Devices’ manufacturers were also indicated in the same section, as requested.
- What was the magnification for the microscopic images??
Answer: The magnifications for each micrograph were indicated in the Figure Captions, as requested.
- What is the comment on lone 230/ please improve it and delete the comment.
Answer: The comment had already been solved and improved before the paper's submission; it was removed, and the manuscript was revised to ensure consistency.
- Line 253: why did the author choose the Landa max of 480 nm for the ELISA spectrophotometer? And what was the time duration of it?
Answer: The selection of the wavelength used for the ELISA spectrophotometer was specified in the manuscript (subsection 2.3.4) and bibliographically supported. In addition, the time duration for the revealing process for ELISA measurements was specified for both IAA and Siderophore essays, which were 15 and 5 min, respectively (subsections 2.3.2 and 2.3.4).
- Results: Add magnification for microscopic images
Answer: As requested, the magnifications for each micrograph were indicated in the Figure Captions.
- Please specify the biofilms on SEM images. I could not detect them.
Done: The solid-inoculant areas with and without biofilm were indicated in each micrograph using numbers and arrows. The meaning of each number was indicated in the Results and Discussion section in the corresponding paragraphs.
- Please check the typo errors.
Answer: The manuscript was revised, and the grammar and typo errors were corrected.
Reviewer 3 Report
I recommend the publication of the article because scientific experimentation on the use of microorganisms in the promotion of plant growth, in particular T. aestivum cereals, is of particular interest.
The aim and objectives of the article have been stated and are very interesting. The use of new inoculums capable of stimulating plant growth is an important topic, especially for the reduction of synthetic products in agriculture. Furthermore, the field of biostimulants is currently undergoing extensive development. The work carried out is certainly of international interest and the format applied is certainly suitable for a research article. The work done is original, of particular interest and can certainly stimulate research on this topic. The length of the article is appropriate for the journal and the graphs and tables are clear and easy to understand. The conclusion summarises the aims of the work and future prospects.
Author Response
REVIEWER 3:
I recommend the publication of the article because scientific experimentation on the use of microorganisms in the promotion of plant growth, in particular T. aestivum cereals, is of particular interest.
The aim and objectives of the article have been stated and are very interesting. The use of new inoculums capable of stimulating plant growth is an important topic, especially for the reduction of synthetic products in agriculture. Furthermore, the field of biostimulants is currently undergoing extensive development. The work carried out is certainly of international interest and the format applied is certainly suitable for a research article. The work done is original, of particular interest and can certainly stimulate research on this topic. The length of the article is appropriate for the journal and the graphs and tables are clear and easy to understand. The conclusion summarises the aims of the work and future prospects.
Answer: We appreciate the comments. We look forward to doing some research work considering broader objectives and prospects.
