A comparative analysis of exopolysaccharide and phytohormone secretions by four drought-tolerant rhizobacterial strains and their impact on osmotic-stress mitigation in Arabidopsis thaliana

A new strategy for sustainable agricultural development: Meta-analysis of the efficient interaction of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria with nanoparticles

Nanoparticles (NPs) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are two kinds of additives that have obvious promotion effect on plant growth and development, but the effectiveness and influencing factors of their cooperation remain incompletely understood. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis of 68 published studies to explore the potential effects of simultaneous exposure to NPs and PGPR on plants and the factors influencing the benefits of their cooperation. The results indicated that either individual or combined applications of PGPR and NPs were effective at promoting plant growth and development, but the advantages of cooperation were more obvious, especially for plants under stress conditions. Our results also illustrated that PGPRs species affected the efficiency of cooperation with NPs, with the Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. having the most significant positive effects. Exposure to NPs of 7-15 d and foliar application had the most significant effects on plant biomass, photosynthetic capacity and nutrient accumulation. Effects on plant antioxidant systems were associated with NPs type, size, application dose and exposure way, but were not significantly related to exposure duration. Our results emphasize the effectiveness of cooperation between PGPR and NPs, which provides a theoretical basis for the development of nano-biofertilizers (NBFs), and also provides support for the application and promotion of NBFs in agricultural production.

Effect of γ-polyglutamic Acid Produced by Drought Tolerant Bacillus subtilis FSO3 on Soil Moisture Retention

Drought stress poses significant risks to agricultural productivity by reducing soil moisture availability. Bacterial polymers, such as γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA), have effectively enhanced soil moisture retention and promoted agricultural resilience. This study aimed to investigate the effects of drought stress on Bacillus subtilis FSO3, a glutamate-independent γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) producer, and to evaluate the potential of its γ-PGA-rich fermentation medium for soil moisture retention. The strain produced up to 2.24 g/L γ-PGA without external glutamate supplementation. Under polyethylene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000)-induced water-deficit conditions, B. subtilis FSO3 demonstrated moderate drought tolerance, with a 50% reduction in maximum biomass at 20% PEG-6000. Interestingly, γ-PGA yield increased from 1.6 g/L at 5% PEG-6000 to 2.3 g/L at 20%. The γ-PGA-rich fermentation medium, applied at 100 mg γ-PGA/kg of soil sustained soil moisture levels above 60% for approximately 33% longer than the control. These findings highlight the potential of the γ-PGA-rich fermentation medium produced by B. subtilis FSO3 as a promising and cost-effective solution for enhancing soil water retention under drought conditions.

Enhancing drought tolerance in Pisum sativum and Vicia faba through interspecific interactions with a mixed inoculum of Rhizobium laguerreae and non-host beneficial rhizobacteria

Introduction

Harnessing plant growth-promoting rhizobia presents a sustainable and cost-effective method to enhance crop performance, particularly under drought stress. This study evaluates the variability of plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits among three strains of Rhizobium laguerreae LMR575, LMR571, and LMR655, and two native PGP strains Bacillus LMR698 and Enterobacter aerogenes LMR696. The primary objective was to assess the host range specificity of these strains and their effectiveness in improving drought tolerance in three legume species: Pisum sativum, Vicia faba, and Phaseolus vulgaris.

Methods

In-vitro experiments were conducted to assess the PGP traits of the selected strains, including phosphate solubilization, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, and siderophore production. Greenhouse trials were also performed using a mixed inoculum of performing strains to evaluate their effects on plant physiological and biochemical traits under drought conditions.

Results

Significant variability in PGP traits was observed among the strains. R. laguerreae LMR655 exhibited the highest phosphate solubilization (113.85 mg mL-1 PO4 2-), while R. laguerreae LMR571 produced the highest IAA concentration (25.37 mg mL-1). E. aerogenes LMR696 demonstrated 82% siderophore production. Symbiotic interactions varied, with R. laguerreae LMR571 and LMR655 forming associations with P. sativum and V. faba, but none establishing compatibility with P. vulgaris. Greenhouse experiments showed that a mixed inoculum of R. laguerreae LMR571, LMR655, and E. aerogenes LMR696 significantly improved proline, total soluble sugars, proteins, and chlorophyll content under drought stress, with V. faba showing the strongest response.

Discussion

These findings highlight the importance of strain selection based on host specificity and PGP potential. The enhanced drought tolerance observed suggests that tailored microbial inoculants can improve legume resilience in water-limited environments. This study provides valuable insights for optimizing bioinoculant formulations to enhance crop performance under drought stress.

Four Decades of Bacillus Biofertilizers: Advances and Future Prospects in Agriculture

Over the past four decades, Bacillus biofertilizers, which are microbial formulations based on Bacillus species, have significantly contributed to sustainable agriculture by enhancing crop growth, improving soil health, and reducing the dependency on chemical fertilizers. Bacillus species, particularly known for their ability to promote plant growth, fix nitrogen, solubilize phosphorus, and produce growth-promoting substances such as phytohormones and antibiotics, have emerged as key players in the development of eco-friendly agricultural solutions. This research utilizes bibliometric analysis based on 3,242 documents sourced from the Web of Science database to map the development, key contributions, and innovation within the field from 1985 to 2023. This study identifies exponential growth in research output, particularly from 2003 onwards, indicating a robust interest and expanding research base predominantly in China, India, and the United States. We segmented the research timeline into three distinct phases, each marked by varying growth rates and research foci. This paper presents novel insights into the geographical and institutional distributions of research, highlighting the predominant role of developing countries in advancing Bacillus-based technologies. Key research hotspots have evolved from basic applications to complex interactions involving synthetic microbial communities and advanced multi-omics techniques. Our findings demonstrate a trend towards more strategic and technologically integrated approaches to developing Bacillus biofertilizers, reflecting broader shifts towards more sustainable agricultural systems. This study not only charts historical progress, but also proposes future research trajectories aimed at enhancing the application and effectiveness of microbial fertilizers across diverse ecosystems.

Rhizosphere bacteria from the Bolivian highlands improve drought tolerance in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

AIMS

Drought is one of the most destructive abiotic factors for agricultural production, causing considerable yield losses. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is cultivated worldwide in different environmental conditions due to its nutritional characteristics and ability to grow in harsh environments. This study aims to select drought stress tolerant rhizosphere bacteria from the Bolivian altiplano to evaluate their quinoa growth-promoting capacity, including in vitro germination, seedling growth under drought stress in greenhouse conditions and field studies.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Rhizosphere soil from the southern highlands of Bolivia was collected to isolate 164 drought-stress tolerant bacteria. From these, 28 strains were shown to produce indole acetic acid, and/or to possess nitrogen-fixing or phosphate solubilizing capacity under in vitro conditions. Furthermore, all strains were evaluated for improvement of in vitro quinoa seed germination. Based on these properties, nine bacterial strains were formulated in three different matrixes and evaluated for quinoa seedling growth promotion during drought stress in a 3-month greenhouse experiment. Three strains were shown to significantly (P < 0.05) increase root length of the quinoa seedlings. One strain was selected and shown to significantly (P < 0.05) increase leaf number in a field trial under semi-arid conditions in the southern altiplano in Bolivia. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the 16S locus putatively identified the three strains with growth-promoting potential under drought stress as members of the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Serratia.

CONCLUSION

Microorganisms from the arid Bolivian altiplano constitute a potential biological source of bioinoculants to improve quinoa productivity and provide sustainable mitigation of climate change effects.

Modulation of plant polyamine and ethylene biosynthesis; and brassinosteroid signaling during Bacillus endophyticus J13-mediated salinity tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Salinity stress adversely impacts plant growth and development. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are known to confer salinity stress tolerance in plants through several mechanisms. Here, we report the role of an abiotic stress-tolerant PGPR strain, Bacillus endophyticus J13, in promoting salinity stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana, by elucidating its impact on physiological responses, polyamine (PA) and ethylene biosynthesis, and brassinosteroid signaling. Physiological analysis revealed that J13 can significantly improve the overall plant growth under salt stress by increasing the biomass, relative water content, and chlorophyll content, decreasing membrane damage and lipid peroxidation, and modulating proline homeostasis in plants. Evaluation of shoot polyamine levels upon J13 inoculation revealed an overall decrease in the levels of the three major PAs, putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm), under non-stressed conditions. Salt stress significantly increased the levels of Put and Spm, while decreasing the Spd levels in the plants. J13 inoculation under salt-stressed conditions, significantly decreased the Put levels, bringing them closer to those of the untreated control plants, whereas Spd and Spm levels did not change relative to the non-inoculated salt-stressed plants. The modulation of PA levels was accompanied by changes in the expressions of key PA biosynthetic genes under all treatments. Among the ethylene biosynthetic genes that we studied, ACS1 was induced by J13 inoculation under salt stress. J13 inoculation under salt stress resulted in the modulation of the expressions of BR-signaling genes, upregulating the expressions of the positive regulators of BR-signaling (BZR1 and BES2) and downregulating that of the negative regulator (BIN2). Our results provide a new avenue for J13-mediated salt stress amelioration in Arabidopsis, via tight control of polyamine and ethylene biosynthesis and enhanced brassinosteroid signaling.

Thermal and salt stress effects on the survival of plant growth-promoting bacteria Azospirillum brasilense in inoculants for maize cultivation

BACKGROUND

The plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) Azospirillum brasilense is widely used as an inoculant for important grass crops, providing numerous benefits to the plants. However, one limitation to develop viable commercial inoculants is the control of PGPB survival, requiring strategies that guarantee their survival during handling and field application. The application of sublethal stress appears to be a promising strategy to increase bacterial cells tolerance to adverse environmental conditions since previous stress induces the activation of physiological protection in bacterial cell. In this work, we evaluated the effects of thermal and salt stresses on the survival of inoculant containing A. brasilense Ab-V5 and Ab-V6 strains and we monitored A. brasilense viability in inoculated maize roots after stress treatment of inoculant.

RESULTS

Thermal stress application (> 35 °C) in isolated cultures for both strains, as well as salt stress [sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations > 0.3 mol L-1], resulted in growth rate decline. The A. brasilense enumeration in maize roots obtained by propidium monoazide quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PMA-qPCR), for inoculated maize seedlings grown in vitro for 7 days, showed that there is an increased number of viable cells after the salt stress treatment, indicating that A. brasilense Ab-V5 and Ab-V6 strains are able to adapt to salt stress (0.3 mol L-1 NaCl) growth conditions.

CONCLUSION

Azospirillum brasilense Ab-V5 and Ab-V6 strains had potential for osmoadaptation and salt stress, resulting in increased cell survival after inoculation in maize plants. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Impact of Drought Stress on Plant Growth and Its Management Using Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

Drought stress is a significant environmental challenge affecting global agriculture, leading to substantial reductions in crop yields and overall plant productivity. It induces a cascade of physiological and biochemical changes in plants, including reduced water uptake, stomatal closure, and alterations in hormonal balance, all of which contribute to impaired growth and development. Drought stress diminishes crop production by impacting crucial plant metabolic pathways. Plants possess the ability to activate or deactivate specific sets of genes, leading to changes in their physiological and morphological characteristics. This adaptive response enables plants to evade, endure, or prevent the effects of drought stress. Drought stress triggers the activation of various genes, transcription factors, and signal transduction pathways in plants. In this context, imposing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) emerges as a promising strategy. PGPR, employing diverse mechanisms such as osmotic adjustments, antioxidant activity, and phytohormone production, not only ensures the plant's survival during drought conditions but also enhances its overall growth. This comprehensive review delves into the various mechanisms through which PGPR enhances drought stress resistance, offering a thorough exploration of recent molecular and omics-based approaches to unravel the role of drought-responsive genes. The manuscript encompasses a detailed mechanistic analysis, along with the development of PGPR-based drought stress management in plants.

Improvement of morphophysiological and anatomical attributes of plants under abiotic stress conditions using plant growth-promoting bacteria and safety treatments

Drought and salinity are the major abiotic stress factors negatively affecting the morphophysiological, biochemical, and anatomical characteristics of numerous plant species worldwide. The detrimental effects of these environmental factors can be seen in leaf and stem anatomical structures including the decrease in thickness of cell walls, palisade and spongy tissue, phloem and xylem tissue. Also, the disintegration of grana staking, and an increase in the size of mitochondria were observed under salinity and drought conditions. Drought and salt stresses can significantly decrease plant height, number of leaves and branches, leaf area, fresh and dry weight, or plant relative water content (RWC%) and concentration of photosynthetic pigments. On the other hand, stress-induced lipid peroxidation and malondialdehyde (MDA) production, electrolyte leakage (EL%), and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can increase under salinity and drought conditions. Antioxidant defense systems such as catalase, peroxidase, glutathione reductase, ascorbic acid, and gamma-aminobutyric acid are essential components under drought and salt stresses to protect the plant organelles from oxidative damage caused by ROS. The application of safe and eco-friendly treatments is a very important strategy to overcome the adverse effects of drought and salinity on the growth characteristics and yield of plants. It is shown that treatments with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) can improve morphoanatomical characteristics under salinity and drought stress. It is also shown that yeast extract, mannitol, proline, melatonin, silicon, chitosan, α-Tocopherols (vitamin E), and biochar alleviate the negative effects of drought and salinity stresses through the ROS scavenging resulting in the improvement of plant attributes and yield of the stressed plants. This review discusses the role of safety and eco-friendly treatments in alleviating the harmful effects of salinity and drought associated with the improvement of the anatomical, morphophysiological, and biochemical features in plants.

Potential of Drought Tolerant Rhizobacteria Amended with Biochar on Growth Promotion in Wheat

Drought stress is the prime obstacle for worldwide agricultural production and necessitates innovative strategies for enhancing crop resilience. This study explores the efficacy of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and biochar (BC) as sustainable amendments for mitigating the effects of drought on wheat growth. Multiple experiments were carried out on isolated strains to assess their drought tolerance potential and multiple plant growth-promoting attributes. Experiments in the laboratory and natural environment were conducted to assess the impact of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, biochar, and their synergistic application on various growth parameters of wheat. The results revealed that the drought-tolerant PGPR strains (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus tequilensis), alongside biochar (rice husk), alleviated the phytotoxic impact of drought by increasing the root length from 17.0% to 70.0% and shoot length from 30.0% to 82.0% as compared to un-inoculated stressed controls. The total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of the plants were substantially increased to 477% and 423%, respectively, when biochar and PGPR were applied synergistically. Significant enhancements in membrane stability index, relative water content, proline, and sugar level were achieved by combining biochar and bacterial strains, resulting in increases of 19.5%, 37.9%, 219%, and 300%, respectively. The yield of wheat in terms of plant height, spike length, number of spikelets per spike, and number of grains per spike was enhanced from 26.7% to 44.6%, 23.5% to 62.7%, 91.5% to 154%, and 137% to 182%, respectively. It was concluded that the biochar-based application of PGPR induced drought tolerance in wheat under water deficit conditions, ultimately improving the production and yield of wheat.

A scientific version of understanding "Why did the chickens cross the road"? - A guided journey through Bacillus spp. towards sustainable agriculture, circular economy and biofortification

The world, a famished planet with an overgrowing population, requires enormous food crops. This scenario compelled the farmers to use a high quantity of synthetic fertilizers for high food crop productivity. However, prolonged usage of chemical fertilizers results in severe adverse effects on soil and water quality. On the other hand, the growing population significantly consumes large quantities of poultry meats. Eventually, this produces a mammoth amount of poultry waste, chicken feathers. Owing to the protein value of the chicken feathers, these wastes are converted into protein hydrolysate and further extend their application as biostimulants for sustained agriculture. The protein profile of chicken feather protein hydrolysate (CFPH) produced through Bacillus spp. was the maximum compared to physical and chemical protein extraction methods. Several studies proved that the application of CFPH and active Bacillus spp. culture to soil and plants results in enhanced plant growth, phytochemical constituents, crop yield, soil nutrients, fertility, microbiome and resistance against diverse abiotic and biotic stresses. Overall, "CFPH - Jack of all trades" and "Bacillus spp. - an active camouflage to the surroundings where they applied showed profound and significant benefits to the plant growth under the most adverse conditions. In addition, Bacillus spp. coheres the biofortification process in plants through the breakdown of metals into metal ions that eventually increase the nutrient value of the food crops. However, detailed information on them is missing. This can be overcome by further real-world studies on rhizoengineering through a multi-omics approach and their interaction with plants. This review has explored the best possible and efficient strategy for managing chicken feather wastes into protein-rich CFPH through Bacillus spp. bioconversion and utilizing the CFPH and Bacillus spp. as biostimulants, biofertilizers, biopesticides and biofortificants. This paper is an excellent report on organic waste management, circular economy and sustainable agriculture research frontier.

Exopolysaccharides from agriculturally important microorganisms: Conferring soil nutrient status and plant health

A wide variety of microorganisms secretes extracellular polymeric substances or commonly known as exopolysaccharides (EPS), which have been studied to influence plant growth via various mechanisms. EPS-producing microorganisms have been found to have positive effects on plant health such as by facilitating nutrient entrapment in the soil, or by improving soil quality, especially by helping in mitigating various abiotic stress conditions. The various types of microbial polysaccharides allow for the compartmentalization of the microbial community enabling them to endure undressing stress conditions. With the growing population, there is a constant need for developing sustainable agriculture where we could use various PGPR to help the plant cope with various stress conditions and simultaneously enhance the crop yield. These polysaccharides have also found application in various sectors, especially in the biomedical fields, manifesting their potential to act as antitumor drugs, play a significant role in immune evasion, and reveal various therapeutic potentials. These constitute high levels of bioactive polysaccharides which possess a wide range of implementation starting from industrial applications to novel food applications. In this current review, we aim at presenting a comprehensive study of how these microbial extracellular polymeric substances influence agricultural productivity along with their other commercial applications.

Adaptive mechanism of the marine bacterium Pseudomonas sihuiensis-BFB-6S towards pCO2 variation: Insights into synthesis of extracellular polymeric substances and physiochemical modulation

Marine bacteria can adapt to various extreme environments by the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Throughout this investigation, impact of variable pCO2 levels on the metabolic activity and physiochemical modulation in EPS matrix of marine bacterium Pseudomonas sihuiensis - BFB-6S was evaluated using a fluorescence microscope, excitation-emission matrix (EEM), 2D-Fourier transform infrared correlation spectroscopy (2D-ATR-FTIR-COS), FT-NMR and TGA-DSC. From the results at higher pCO2 levels, there was a substantial reduction in EPS production by 58-62.8 % (DW). In addition to the biochemical composition of EPS, reduction in carbohydrates (8.7-47.6 %), protein (7.1-91.5 %), and lipids (16.9-68.6 %) content were observed at higher pCO2 levels. Functional discrepancies of fluorophores (tyrosine and tryptophan-like) in EPS, speckled differently in response to variable pCO2. The 2D-ATR-FTIR-COS analysis revealed functional amides (CN, CC, CO bending, -NH bending in amines) of EPS were preferentially altered, which led to the domination of polysaccharides relevant functional groups at higher pCO2. 1H NMR analysis of EPS confirmed the absence of chemical signals from H-C-COOH of proteins, α, β anomeric protons, and acetyl group relevant region at higher pCO2 levels. These findings can contribute new insights into the influence of pCO2 on the adaptation of marine microbes in future ocean acidification scenarios.

Role of methylglyoxal and redox homeostasis in microbe-mediated stress mitigation in plants

One of the general consequences of stress in plants is the accumulation of reactive oxygen (ROS) and carbonyl species (like methylglyoxal) to levels that are detrimental for plant growth. These reactive species are inherently produced in all organisms and serve different physiological functions but their excessive accumulation results in cellular toxicity. It is, therefore, essential to restore equilibrium between their synthesis and breakdown to ensure normal cellular functioning. Detoxification mechanisms that scavenge these reactive species are considered important for stress mitigation as they maintain redox balance by restricting the levels of ROS, methylglyoxal and other reactive species in the cellular milieu. Stress tolerance imparted to plants by root-associated microbes involves a multitude of mechanisms, including maintenance of redox homeostasis. By improving the overall antioxidant response in plants, microbes can strengthen defense pathways and hence, the adaptive abilities of plants to sustain growth under stress. Hence, through this review we wish to highlight the contribution of root microbiota in modulating the levels of reactive species and thereby, maintaining redox homeostasis in plants as one of the important mechanisms of stress alleviation. Further, we also examine the microbial mechanisms of resistance to oxidative stress and their role in combating plant stress.

Pan-metagenome reveals the abiotic stress resistome of cigar tobacco phyllosphere microbiome

The important role of microbial associations in mediating plant protection and responses to abiotic stresses has been widely recognized. However, there have been limited studies on the functional profile of the phyllosphere microbiota from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), hindering our understanding of the mechanisms underlying stress resilience in this representative and easy-to-cultivate model species from the solanaceous family. To address this knowledge gap, our study employed shotgun metagenomic sequencing for the first time to analyze the genetic catalog and identify putative plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) candidates that confer abiotic stress resilience throughout the growth period of cigar tobacco in the phyllosphere. We identified abundant genes from specific bacterial lineages, particularly Pseudomonas, within the cigar tobacco phyllospheric microbiome. These genes were found to confer resilience against a wide range of stressors, including osmotic and drought stress, heavy metal toxicity, temperature perturbation, organic pollutants, oxidative stress, and UV light damage. In addition, we conducted a virome mining analysis on the metagenome to explore the potential roles of viruses in driving microbial adaptation to environmental stresses. Our results identified a total of 3,320 scaffolds predicted to be viral from the cigar tobacco phyllosphere metagenome, with various phages infecting Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Enterobacteria, Ralstonia, and related viruses. Within the virome, we also annotated genes associated with abiotic stress resilience, such as alkaline phosphatase D (phoD) for nutrient solubilization and glutamate-5-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (proA) for osmolyte synthesis. These findings shed light on the unexplored roles of viruses in facilitating and transferring abiotic stress resilience in the phyllospheric microbiome through beneficial interactions with their hosts. The findings from this study have important implications for agricultural practices, as they offer potential strategies for harnessing the capabilities of the phyllosphere microbiome to enhance stress tolerance in crop plants.

Molecular insights and omics-based understanding of plant-microbe interactions under drought stress

The detrimental effects of adverse environmental conditions are always challenging and remain a major concern for plant development and production worldwide. Plants deal with such constraints by physiological, biochemical, and morphological adaptations as well as acquiring mutual support of beneficial microorganisms. As many stress-responsive traits of plants are influenced by microbial activities, plants have developed a sophisticated interaction with microbes to cope with adverse environmental conditions. The production of numerous bioactive metabolites by rhizospheric, endo-, or epiphytic microorganisms can directly or indirectly alter the root system architecture, foliage production, and defense responses. Although plant-microbe interactions have been shown to improve nutrient uptake and stress resilience in plants, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. "Multi-omics" application supported by genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics has been quite useful to investigate and understand the biochemical, physiological, and molecular aspects of plant-microbe interactions under drought stress conditions. The present review explores various microbe-mediated mechanisms for drought stress resilience in plants. In addition, plant adaptation to drought stress is discussed, and insights into the latest molecular techniques and approaches available to improve drought-stress resilience are provided.

Microbial Exudates as Biostimulants: Role in Plant Growth Promotion and Stress Mitigation

Microbes hold immense potential, based on the fact that they are widely acknowledged for their role in mitigating the detrimental impacts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which were extensively employed during the Green Revolution era. The consequence of this extensive use has been the degradation of agricultural land, soil health and fertility deterioration, and a decline in crop quality. Despite the existence of environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives, microbial bioinoculants encounter numerous challenges in real-world agricultural settings. These challenges include harsh environmental conditions like unfavorable soil pH, temperature extremes, and nutrient imbalances, as well as stiff competition with native microbial species and host plant specificity. Moreover, obstacles spanning from large-scale production to commercialization persist. Therefore, substantial efforts are underway to identify superior solutions that can foster a sustainable and eco-conscious agricultural system. In this context, attention has shifted towards the utilization of cell-free microbial exudates as opposed to traditional microbial inoculants. Microbial exudates refer to the diverse array of cellular metabolites secreted by microbial cells. These metabolites enclose a wide range of chemical compounds, including sugars, organic acids, amino acids, peptides, siderophores, volatiles, and more. The composition and function of these compounds in exudates can vary considerably, depending on the specific microbial strains and prevailing environmental conditions. Remarkably, they possess the capability to modulate and influence various plant physiological processes, thereby inducing tolerance to both biotic and abiotic stresses. Furthermore, these exudates facilitate plant growth and aid in the remediation of environmental pollutants such as chemicals and heavy metals in agroecosystems. Much like live microbes, when applied, these exudates actively participate in the phyllosphere and rhizosphere, engaging in continuous interactions with plants and plant-associated microbes. Consequently, they play a pivotal role in reshaping the microbiome. The biostimulant properties exhibited by these exudates position them as promising biological components for fostering cleaner and more sustainable agricultural systems.

Recent advances in PGPR-mediated resilience toward interactive effects of drought and salt stress in plants

The present crisis at hand revolves around the need to enhance plant resilience to various environmental stresses, including abiotic and biotic stresses, to ensure sustainable agriculture and mitigate the impact of climate change on crop production. One such promising approach is the utilization of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to mediate plant resilience to these stresses. Plants are constantly exposed to various stress factors, such as drought, salinity, pathogens, and nutrient deficiencies, which can significantly reduce crop yield and quality. The PGPR are beneficial microbes that reside in the rhizosphere of plants and have been shown to positively influence plant growth and stress tolerance through various mechanisms, including nutrient solubilization, phytohormone production, and induction of systemic resistance. The review comprehensively examines the various mechanisms through which PGPR promotes plant resilience, including nutrient acquisition, hormonal regulation, and defense induction, focusing on recent research findings. The advancements made in the field of PGPR-mediated resilience through multi-omics approaches (viz., genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) to unravel the intricate interactions between PGPR and plants have been discussed including their molecular pathways involved in stress tolerance. Besides, the review also emphasizes the importance of continued research and implementation of PGPR-based strategies to address the pressing challenges facing global food security including commercialization of PGPR-based bio-formulations for sustainable agricultural.

Characterizing and demonstrating the role of Klebsiella SSN1 exopolysaccharide in osmotic stress tolerance using neutron radiography

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are organic macromolecules naturally secreted by many microorganisms. EPS is increasingly used for agriculture and industrial purposes. This study focuses on isolate Klebsiella pneumonia SSN1, Klebsiella quasipeumonniae SGM81 isolated from rhizosphere to explore its water retention efficiency under drought conditions. Neutron Radiography was used to visualise water distribution in the sand under normal and drought conditions in the presence and absence of EPS producing bacteria. The EPS production was studied by applying Box Behnken design (BBD) under drought stress which was artificially induced by using polyethene glycol 6000 under osmotic stress condition 3.65% w/v of EPS dry weight was obtained. The relative water content (RWC) is used to calculate the amount of water present in the sand and was further studied by Neutron Radiography imaging with appropriate controls. FTIR and HPLC were also carried out for the characterisation of the extracted EPS. The sand experiments revealed that after 24 h of evaporation, the highest RWC was maintained by SSN1 at 29.7% compared to SGM81 (19.06%). SSN1 was found to release L-arabinose as the main sugar of its EPS under drought stress conditions by HPLC method. The FTIR data indicated the presence of β-glucans and polysaccharide α-pyranose between wavenumber 700 cm^-1-1500 cm^-1 and 1017 cm^-1-1200 cm^-1 respectively. The HPLC characterization of extracted EPS from osmotic stressed cells (run 3) displayed a peak designated to L-arabinose at 10.3 retention time (RT) for 132.4 mM concentration. While from run 5 with the controlled condition indicated the presence of L-rhamnose at 7.3 RT for 87 mM concentration. Neutron radiography enables the visualisation of water distribution in the sand as well as water transport in root-soil systems in situ. SSN1 has elicited EPS production in drought conditions with a low level of nitrogen and carbon.

Metal-Resistant PGPR Strain Azospirillum brasilense EMCC1454 Enhances Growth and Chromium Stress Tolerance of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) by Modulating Redox Potential, Osmolytes, Antioxidants, and Stress-Related Gene Expression

Heavy metal stress, including from chromium, has detrimental effects on crop growth and yields worldwide. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have demonstrated great efficiency in mitigating these adverse effects. The present study investigated the potential of the PGPR strain Azospirillum brasilense EMCC1454 as a useful bio-inoculant for boosting the growth, performance and chromium stress tolerance of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) plants exposed to varying levels of chromium stress (0, 130 and 260 µM K₂Cr₂O₇). The results revealed that A. brasilense EMCC1454 could tolerate chromium stress up to 260 µM and exhibited various plant growth-promoting (PGP) activities, including nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and generation of siderophore, trehalose, exopolysaccharide, ACC deaminase, indole acetic acid, and hydrolytic enzymes. Chromium stress doses induced the formation of PGP substances and antioxidants in A. brasilense EMCC1454. In addition, plant growth experiments showed that chromium stress significantly inhibited the growth, minerals acquisition, leaf relative water content, biosynthesis of photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange traits, and levels of phenolics and flavonoids of chickpea plants. Contrarily, it increased the concentrations of proline, glycine betaine, soluble sugars, proteins, oxidative stress markers, and enzymatic (CAT, APX, SOD, and POD) and non-enzymatic (ascorbic acid and glutathione) antioxidants in plants. On the other hand, A. brasilense EMCC1454 application alleviated oxidative stress markers and significantly boosted the growth traits, gas exchange characteristics, nutrient acquisition, osmolyte formation, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in chromium-stressed plants. Moreover, this bacterial inoculation upregulated the expression of genes related to stress tolerance (CAT, SOD, APX, CHS, DREB2A, CHI, and PAL). Overall, the current study demonstrated the effectiveness of A. brasilense EMCC1454 in enhancing plant growth and mitigating chromium toxicity impacts on chickpea plants grown under chromium stress circumstances by modulating the antioxidant machinery, photosynthesis, osmolyte production, and stress-related gene expression.

Effects of sublethal stress application on the survival of bacterial inoculants: a systematic review

The use of commercial bacterial inoculants formulated with plant-growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) in agriculture has shown significant prominence in recent years due to growth-promotion benefits provided to plants through different mechanisms. However, the survival and viability of bacterial cells in inoculants are affected during use and may decrease their effectiveness. Physiological adaptation strategies have attracted attention to solve the viability problem. This review aims to provide an overview of research on selecting sublethal stress strategies to increase the effectiveness of bacterial inoculants. The searches were performed in November 2021 using Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Proquest databases. The keywords "nitrogen-fixing bacteria", "plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria", "azospirillum", "pseudomonas", "rhizobium", "stress pre-conditioning", "adaptation", "metabolic physiological adaptation", "cellular adaptation", "increasing survival", "protective agent" and "protective strategy" were used in the searches. A total of 2573 publications were found, and 34 studies were selected for a deeper study of the subject. Based on the studies analysis, gaps and potential applications related to sublethal stress were identified. The most used strategies included osmotic, thermal, oxidative, and nutritional stress, and the primary cell response mechanism to stress was the accumulation of osmolytes, phytohormones, and exopolysaccharides (EPS). Under sublethal stress, the inoculant survival showed positive increments after lyophilization, desiccation, and long-term storage processes. The effectiveness of inoculant-plants interaction also had positive increments after sublethal stress, improving plant development, disease control, and tolerance to environmental stresses compared to unappealed inoculants.

Drought tolerance of Aspergillus violaceofuscus and Bacillus licheniformis and their influence on tomato growth and potassium uptake in mica amended tropical soils under water-limiting conditions

Drought is a significant abiotic stress that alters plant physiology and ultimately affects crop productivity. Among essential plant nutrients, potassium (K) is known to mitigate the deleterious effect of drought on plant growth. If so, K addition or inoculation of potassium solubilizing microorganisms (KSMs) that are tolerant to drought should promote plant growth during water stress. Therefore, in this study, K solubilizing Aspergillus violaceofuscus and Bacillus licheniformis, isolated from saxicolous environments, were tested for their capacity to tolerate drought using different molecular weights (~4000, 6000, and 8000 Da), and concentrations (0, 250, 500, 750, 1000, and 1250 mg/L) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) under in vitro conditions. The results showed that high concentrations (750 and 1000 mg/L) of PEG with different molecular weight considerably improved bacterial cell numbers/fungal biomass and catalase (CAT) and proline activities. Moreover, the ability of KSMs alone or in combination to impart drought tolerance and promote plant growth in the presence and absence of mica (9.3% K₂O) supplementation was tested in Alfisol and Vertisol soil types under greenhouse conditions. The results revealed that the tomato plants inoculated with KSMs individually or dually with/without mica improved the physiological and morphological traits of the tomato plants under drought. Generally, tomato plants co-inoculated with KSMs and supplemented with mica were taller (2.62 and 3.38-fold) and had more leaf area (2.03 and 1.98-fold), total root length (3.26 and 8.86-fold), shoot biomass (3.87 and 3.93-fold), root biomass (9.00 and 7.24-fold), shoot K content (3.08 and 3.62-fold), root K content (3.39 and 2.03-fold), relative water content (1.51 and 1.27-fold), CAT activity (2.11 and 2.14-fold), proline content (3.41 and 3.28-fold), and total chlorophyll content (1.81 and 1.90-fold), in unsterilized Alfisol and Vertisol soil types, respectively, than uninoculated ones. Dual inoculation of the KSMs along with mica amendment, also improved the endorrhizal symbiosis of tomato plants more than their individual inoculation or application in both soil types. These findings imply that the A. violaceofuscus and B. licheniformis isolates are promising as novel bioinoculants for improving crop growth in water-stressed and rainfed areas of the tropics in the future.

Mechanisms and Applications of Bacterial Inoculants in Plant Drought Stress Tolerance

Agricultural systems are highly affected by climatic factors such as temperature, rain, humidity, wind, and solar radiation, so the climate and its changes are major risk factors for agricultural activities. A small portion of the agricultural areas of Brazil is irrigated, while the vast majority directly depends on the natural variations of the rains. The increase in temperatures due to climate change will lead to increased water consumption by farmers and a reduction in water availability, putting production capacity at risk. Drought is a limiting environmental factor for plant growth and one of the natural phenomena that most affects agricultural productivity. The response of plants to water stress is complex and involves coordination between gene expression and its integration with hormones. Studies suggest that bacteria have mechanisms to mitigate the effects of water stress and promote more significant growth in these plant species. The underlined mechanism involves root-to-shoot phenotypic changes in growth rate, architecture, hydraulic conductivity, water conservation, plant cell protection, and damage restoration through integrating phytohormones modulation, stress-induced enzymatic apparatus, and metabolites. Thus, this review aims to demonstrate how plant growth-promoting bacteria could mitigate negative responses in plants exposed to water stress and provide examples of technological conversion applied to agroecosystems.

Mitigation of water scarcity with sustained growth of Rice by plant growth promoting bacteria

Climate change augments the risk to food security by inducing drought stress and a drastic decline in global rice production. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been known to improve plant growth under drought stress. Here in the present study, we isolated, identified, and well-characterized eight drought-tolerant bacteria from the rice rhizosphere that are tolerant to 20% PEG-8000. These strains exhibited multiple plant growth-promoting traits, i.e., 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity, exopolysaccharide production, phosphate (P)-solubilizing activity (51-356 µg ml-1), indole-3 acetic acid (IAA) production (14.3-46.2 µg ml-1), and production of organic acids (72-178 µg ml-1). Inoculation of bacterial consortium (Bacillus subtilis NM-2, Brucella haematophilum NM-4, and Bacillus cereus NM-6) significantly improved seedling growth and vigor index (1009.2-1100) as compared to non-inoculated stressed plants (630-957). Through rhizoscanning, efficiency of the consortium was validated by improved root parameters such as root length (17%), diameter, and surface area (18%) of all tested genotypes as compared with respective non-inoculated stressed treatments. Furthermore, the response of consortium inoculation on three rice genotypes was positively correlated with improved plant growth and drought stress ameliorating traits by the accumulation of osmoprotectant, i.e., proline (85.8%-122%), relative water content (51%), membrane stability index (64%), and production of antioxidant enzymes to reduce oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species. A decrease in temperature and improved chlorophyll content of inoculated plants were found using infrared thermal imaging and soil plant analyzer development (SPAD), respectively. The key supporting role of inoculation toward stress responses was validated using robust techniques like infrared thermal imaging and an infrared gas analyzer. Furthermore, principal component analysis depicts the contribution of inoculation on stress responses and yield of tested rice genotypes under water stress. The integration of drought-tolerant rice genotype (NIBGE-DT02) and potential bacterial strains, i.e., NM-2, NM-4, and NM-6, can serve as an effective bioinoculant to cope with water scarcity under current alarming issues related to food security in fluctuating climate.

Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR): Approaches to Alleviate Abiotic Stresses for Enhancement of Growth and Development of Medicinal Plants

Plants are constantly exposed to both biotic and abiotic stresses which limit their growth and development and reduce productivity. In order to tolerate them, plants initiate a multitude of stress-specific responses which modulate different physiological, molecular and cellular mechanisms. However, many times the natural methods employed by plants for overcoming the stresses are not sufficient and require external assistance from the rhizosphere. The microbial community in the rhizosphere (known as the rhizomicrobiome) undergoes intraspecific as well as interspecific interaction and signaling. The rhizomicrobiome, as biostimulants, play a pivotal role in stimulating the growth of plants and providing resilience against abiotic stress. Such rhizobacteria which promote the development of plants and increase their yield and immunity are known as PGPR (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria). On the basis of contact, they are classified into two categories, extracellular (in soil around root, root surface and cellular space) and intracellular (nitrogen-fixing bacteria). They show their effects on plant growth directly (i.e., in absence of pathogens) or indirectly. Generally, they make their niche in concentrated form around roots, as the latter exude several nutrients, such as amino acids, lipids, proteins, etc. Rhizobacteria build a special symbiotic relationship with the plant or a section of the plant’s inner tissues. There are free-living PGPRs with the potential to work as biofertilizers. Additionally, studies show that PGPRs can ameliorate the effect of abiotic stresses and help in enhanced growth and development of plants producing therapeutically important compounds. This review focuses on the various mechanisms which are employed by PGPRs to mitigate the effect of different stresses in medicinal plants and enhance tolerance against these stress conditions.

Insight into the Mechanism of Salt-Induced Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Soybean by the Application of Bacillus subtilis: Coordinated Actions of Osmoregulation, Ion Homeostasis, Antioxidant Defense, and Methylglyoxal Detoxification

Considering the growth-promoting potential and other regulatory roles of bacteria, we investigated the possible mechanism of the role of Bacillus subtilis in conferring salt tolerance in soybean. Soybean (Glycine max cv. BARI Soybean-5) seeds were inoculated with B. subtilis, either through a presoaking with seeds or a direct application with pot soil. After 20 days of sowing, both the seed- and soil-inoculated plants were exposed to 50, 100, and 150 mM of NaCl for 30 days. A clear sign of oxidative stress was evident through a remarkable increase in lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide, methylglyoxal, and electrolyte leakage in the salt treated plants. Moreover, the efficiency of the ascorbate (AsA)–glutathione (GSH) pathways was declined. Consequently, the plant growth, biomass accumulation, water relations, and content of the photosynthetic pigments were decreased. Salt stress also caused an increased Na⁺/K⁺ ratio and decreased Ca²⁺. On the contrary, the B. subtilis inoculated plants showed increased levels of AsA and GSH, their redox balance, and the activities of the AsA–GSH pathway enzymes, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, and peroxidase. The B. subtilis inoculated plants also enhanced the activities of glyoxalase enzymes, which mitigated methylglyoxal toxicity in coordination with ROS homeostasis. Besides this, the accumulation of K⁺ and Ca²⁺ was increased to maintain the ion homeostasis in the B. subtilis inoculated plants under salinity. Furthermore, the plant water status was uplifted in the salt treated soybean plants with B. subtilis inoculation. This investigation reveals the potential of B. subtilis in mitigating salt-induced oxidative stress in soybean plants through modulating the antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems along with maintaining ion homeostasis and osmotic adjustments. In addition, it was evident that the soil inoculation performed better than the seed inoculation in mitigating salt-induced oxidative damages in soybean.

Insight into Recent Progress and Perspectives in Improvement of Antioxidant Machinery upon PGPR Augmentation in Plants under Drought Stress: A Review

Agriculture has a lot of responsibility as the rise in the world's population demands more food requirements. However, more than one type of biotic and abiotic stress continually impacts agricultural productivity. Drought stress is a major abiotic stress that significantly affects agricultural productivity every year as the plants undergo several morphological, biochemical, and physiological modifications, such as repressed root and shoot growth, reduced photosynthesis and transpiration rate, excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), osmotic adjustments, and modified leaf senescence regulating and stress signaling pathways. Such modifications may permanently damage the plants; therefore, mitigation strategies must be developed. The use of drought resistant crop cultivars is more expensive and labor-intensive with few advantages. However, exploiting plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a proven alternative with numerous direct and indirect advantages. The PGPR confers induced systemic tolerance (IST) mechanisms in plants in response to drought stress via multiple mechanisms, including the alteration of root architecture, maintenance of high relative water content, improvement of photosynthesis rate, production of phytohormones, exopolysaccharides, ACC deaminase, carotenoids and volatiles, induction of antioxidant defense system, and alteration in stress-responsive gene expression. The commercial application of PGPR as bioinoculants or biostimulants will remain contingent on more robust strain selection and performance under unfavorable environmental conditions. This review highlights the possible mechanisms of PGPR by activating the plant adaptive defense systems for enhancing drought tolerance and improving overall growth and yield.

Overview of biofertilizers in crop production and stress management for sustainable agriculture

With the increase in world population, the demography of humans is estimated to be exceeded and it has become a major challenge to provide an adequate amount of food, feed, and agricultural products majorly in developing countries. The use of chemical fertilizers causes the plant to grow efficiently and rapidly to meet the food demand. The drawbacks of using a higher quantity of chemical or synthetic fertilizers are environmental pollution, persistent changes in the soil ecology, physiochemical composition, decreasing agricultural productivity and cause several health hazards. Climatic factors are responsible for enhancing abiotic stress on crops, resulting in reduced agricultural productivity. There are various types of abiotic and biotic stress factors like soil salinity, drought, wind, improper temperature, heavy metals, waterlogging, and different weeds and phytopathogens like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and nematodes which attack plants, reducing crop productivity and quality. There is a shift toward the use of biofertilizers due to all these facts, which provide nutrition through natural processes like zinc, potassium and phosphorus solubilization, nitrogen fixation, production of hormones, siderophore, various hydrolytic enzymes and protect the plant from different plant pathogens and stress conditions. They provide the nutrition in adequate amount that is sufficient for healthy crop development to fulfill the demand of the increasing population worldwide, eco-friendly and economically convenient. This review will focus on biofertilizers and their mechanisms of action, role in crop productivity and in biotic/abiotic stress tolerance.

Production of extracellular amylase contributes to the colonization of Bacillus cereus 0-9 in wheat roots

Background

Bacteria usually secrete a variety of extracellular enzymes to degrade extracellular macromolecules to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their environmental adaptability. Bacillus cereus 0–9, a biocontrol bacterial strain isolated from wheat roots, has three genes annotated as encoding amylases in the genome, but their functions are unknown, and whether they are involved in the colonization process of the bacterium remains to be further studied.

Methods

Mutant gene strains and fluorescently tagged strains were constructed by homologous recombination, and amylase protein was expressed in the prokaryotic Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) expression system. The iodine staining method was used to measure the activity of amylase proteins. We further observed the colonization abilities of the test strains in wheat roots through frozen section technology.

Results

The results showed that there were three amylase-encoding genes, amyC, amyP and amyS, in the B. cereus 0–9 genome. Among the three amylase encoding genes, only amyS produced extracellular amylase whose secretion was related to signal peptide at position 1–27. The AmyS protein encoded by the amyS gene is an α-amylase. The growth of Rhizoctonia cerealis was inhibited 84.7% by B. cereus 0–9, but the biocontrol ability of the ΔamyS strain decreased to 43.8% and that of ΔamyS/amyS was restored when the amyS gene was complemented. Furthermore, the biocontrol ability of the ΔamySec strain was decreased to 46.8%, almost the same as that of the ΔamyS mutant. Due to the deletion of the amyS gene, the colonization capacities of ΔamyS (RFP) and ΔamySec (RFP) in wheat roots decreased, while that of ΔamyS/amyS (RFP) was restored after the amyS gene was complemented, indicating that the amyS gene influences the colonization of B. cereus 0–9 in wheat roots. In addition, the colonization and biocontrol abilities of the mutant were restored after the addition of sugars, such as glucose and maltose.

Conclusions

B. cereus 0–9 encodes three genes annotated as amylases, amyC, amyP and amyS. Only the deletion of the amyS gene with a signal peptide did not produce extracellular amylase. The AmyS protein encoded by the amyS gene is an α-amylase. Our results indicated that the amyS gene is closely related to the colonization abilities of B. cereus 0–9 in wheat roots and the biocontrol abilities of B. cereus 0–9 to fight against R. cerealis. The extracellular amylase produced by B. cereus 0–9 can hydrolyze starch and use glucose, maltose and other nutrients to meet the needs of bacterial growth. Therefore, it is very possible that the secretion and hydrolytic activities of extracellular amylase can promote the colonization of B. cereus 0–9 in wheat roots and play important roles in the prevention and control of plant diseases. Our results contribute to exploring the mechanisms of microbial colonization in plant roots.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-022-02618-7.

Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Eliminate the Effect of Drought Stress in Plants: A Review

Plants evolve diverse mechanisms to eliminate the drastic effect of biotic and abiotic stresses. Drought is the most hazardous abiotic stress causing huge losses to crop yield worldwide. Osmotic stress decreases relative water and chlorophyll content and increases the accumulation of osmolytes, epicuticular wax content, antioxidant enzymatic activities, reactive oxygen species, secondary metabolites, membrane lipid peroxidation, and abscisic acid. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) eliminate the effect of drought stress by altering root morphology, regulating the stress-responsive genes, producing phytohormones, osmolytes, siderophores, volatile organic compounds, and exopolysaccharides, and improving the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activities. The use of PGPR is an alternative approach to traditional breeding and biotechnology for enhancing crop productivity. Hence, that can promote drought tolerance in important agricultural crops and could be used to minimize crop losses under limited water conditions. This review deals with recent progress on the use of PGPR to eliminate the harmful effects of drought stress in traditional agriculture crops.

Efforts towards overcoming drought stress in crops: Revisiting the mechanisms employed by plant growth-promoting bacteria

Globally, agriculture is under a lot of pressure due to rising population and corresponding increases in food demand. However, several variables, including improper mechanization, limited arable land, and the presence of several biotic and abiotic pressures, continually impact agricultural productivity. Drought is a notable destructive abiotic stress and may be the most serious challenge confronting sustainable agriculture, resulting in a significant crop output deficiency. Numerous morphological and physiological changes occur in plants as a result of drought stress. Hence, there is a need to create mitigation techniques since these changes might permanently harm the plant. Current methods used to reduce the effects of drought stress include the use of film farming, super-absorbent hydrogels, nanoparticles, biochar, and drought-resistant plant cultivars. However, most of these activities are money and labor-intensive, which offer limited plant improvement. The use of plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) has proven to be a preferred method that offers several indirect and direct advantages in drought mitigation. PGPB are critical biological elements which have favorable impacts on plants’ biochemical and physiological features, leading to improved sugar production, relative water content, leaf number, ascorbic acid levels, and photosynthetic pigment quantities. This present review revisited the impacts of PGPB in ameliorating the detrimental effects of drought stress on plants, explored the mechanism of action employed, as well as the major challenges encountered in their application for plant growth and development.

Bacillus thuringiensis PM25 ameliorates oxidative damage of salinity stress in maize via regulating growth, leaf pigments, antioxidant defense system, and stress responsive gene expression

Soil salinity is the major abiotic stress that disrupts nutrient uptake, hinders plant growth, and threatens agricultural production. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are the most promising eco-friendly beneficial microorganisms that can be used to improve plant responses against biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, a previously identified B. thuringiensis PM25 showed tolerance to salinity stress up to 3 M NaCl. The Halo-tolerant Bacillus thuringiensis PM25 demonstrated distinct salinity tolerance and enhance plant growth-promoting activities under salinity stress. Antibiotic-resistant Iturin C (ItuC) and bio-surfactant-producing (sfp and srfAA) genes that confer biotic and abiotic stresses were also amplified in B. thuringiensis PM25. Under salinity stress, the physiological and molecular processes were followed by the over-expression of stress-related genes (APX and SOD) in B. thuringiensis PM25. The results detected that B. thuringiensis PM25 inoculation substantially improved phenotypic traits, chlorophyll content, radical scavenging capability, and relative water content under salinity stress. Under salinity stress, the inoculation of B. thuringiensis PM25 significantly increased antioxidant enzyme levels in inoculated maize as compared to uninoculated plants. In addition, B. thuringiensis PM25-inoculation dramatically increased soluble sugars, proteins, total phenols, and flavonoids in maize as compared to uninoculated plants. The inoculation of B. thuringiensis PM25 significantly reduced oxidative burst in inoculated maize under salinity stress, compared to uninoculated plants. Furthermore, B. thuringiensis PM25-inoculated plants had higher levels of compatible solutes than uninoculated controls. The current results demonstrated that B. thuringiensis PM25 plays an important role in reducing salinity stress by influencing antioxidant defense systems and abiotic stress-related genes. These findings also suggest that multi-stress tolerant B. thuringiensis PM25 could enhance plant growth by mitigating salt stress, which might be used as an innovative tool for enhancing plant yield and productivity.

Probing into the unique relationship between a soil bacterium, Pseudomonas putida AKMP7 and Arabidopsis thaliana: A case of "conditional pathogenesis"

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are beneficial soil bacteria that colonise the rhizosphere and help plants in growth, development, and stress tolerance. While there is a significant body of research elucidating their benefits to plants, studies on the "abnormal" or "unexpected" behavior of these bacteria are almost non-existent. One such study from our laboratory has previously reported a unique situation in which a certain strain of drought and thermo-tolerant PGPR, namely, Pseudomonas putida AKMP7, becomes pathogenic towards Arabidopsis thaliana under drought conditions, but not under normal (well-watered) conditions. In this study, we have probed deeper into this phenomenon of "conditional pathogenesis". We found that, AKMP7 imparts an enhancement in plant growth under well-watered conditions, while, causing a deterioration in plant health under drought conditions. In an attempt to understand the underlying reasons for this phenomenon, we analysed the phytohormones released by Pseudomonas putida AKMP7 using LC-ESI-MS/MS technique. We identified that AKMP7 releases zeatin (a cytokinin), the auxin derivative -indole acetamide and amino acid-conjugates of auxin (indole-3-acetyl-L-alanine, indole-3-acetyl-L-phenylalanine and indole-3-acetyl-L-aspartate) in the growth medium. By treating the plants with commercially obtained forms of these phytohormones, individually or in combination with AKMP7, we identified that zeatin and auxin derivative indole acetamide can play a crucial role in the conditional pathogenesis exhibited by this bacterium on A. thaliana under drought conditions. Our work lays a foundation for further understanding the precise molecular mechanisms involved in this unique phenomenon of conditional/opportunistic pathogenesis.

Bacterial Mitigation of Drought Stress in Plants: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges

Climate change is emerging as a crucial issue with global attention and leading to abiotic stress conditions. There are different abiotic stress which affects the crop production among which drought is known to be most destructive stress affecting crop productivity and world's food security. Different approaches are under consideration to increase adaptability of the plants under drought stress with plant-microbe interactions being a greater area of focus. Stress-adaptive microbes either from the rhizosphere, internal tissue, or aerial parts of plants have been reported which through different mechanisms help the plants to cope up with drought and also promote their growth. These mechanisms include the accumulation of osmolytes, decrease in the inhibitory levels of ethylene by aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase enzyme, and furnishing the unavailable nutrients to plants. Microbial genera including Azotobacter, Bacillus, Ochrobactrum, Pseudomonas, and Serratia are known to be self-adaptive and growth promoters under drought stressed conditions. Stress-adaptive plant growth promoting (PGP) microbes thus are excellent candidates for stress alleviation in drought environment to provide maximum benefits to the plants. The present review deals with the effect of the drought stress on plants, biodiversity of the drought-adaptive microbes, mechanisms of the drought stress alleviation through enhancement of stress alleviators, reduction of the stress aggravators, and modification of the molecular pathways as well as the multiple PGP attributes of the drought-adaptive microbes.

Bacillus altitudinis HNH7 and Bacillus velezensis HNH9 promote plant growth through upregulation of growth-promoting genes in upland cotton

AIMS

The potential of endophytic Bacillus strains to improve plant growth and yield was evaluated.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Endophytic Bacillus altitudinis HNH7 and Bacillus velezensis HNH9 were evaluated for their growth-promoting traits. In an in vitro plate assay, HNH7 and HNH9 exhibited proteolytic, amylolytic, lipolytic, and cellulolytic activity. HNH7 and HNH9 were able to solubilize iron by producing siderophores but were unable to solubilize insoluble phosphate. PCR confirmed the presence of four growth-promoting genes viz. pvd, budA, asbA, and satA in the genome of HNH7, while HNH9 also possessed the same genes except for budA. In a greenhouse experiment, HNH7 and HNH9 promoted the growth of upland cotton plants by upregulating the expression of growth-linked genes, EXP6, ARF1, ARF18, IAA9, CKX6, and GID1b. However, the expression of genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis i.e., ERF and ERF17 was downregulated after treating the plants with HNH7 and HNH9 compared to the control. Furthermore, cotton plants treated with HNH7 and HNH9 exhibited a significantly higher rate of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance.

CONCLUSION

HNH7 and HNH9 showed a promising potential to promote the growth of cotton plants.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY

Research on plant growth-promoting Bacillus strains can lead to the formation of biofertilizers.

Delineation of mechanistic approaches of rhizosphere microorganisms facilitated plant health and resilience under challenging conditions

Sustainable agriculture demands the balanced use of inorganic, organic, and microbial biofertilizers for enhanced plant productivity and soil fertility. Plant growth-enhancing rhizospheric bacteria can be an excellent biotechnological tool to augment plant productivity in different agricultural setups. We present an overview of microbial mechanisms which directly or indirectly contribute to plant growth, health, and development under highly variable environmental conditions. The rhizosphere microbiomes promote plant growth, suppress pathogens and nematodes, prime plants immunity, and alleviate abiotic stress. The prospective of beneficial rhizobacteria to facilitate plant growth is of primary importance, particularly under abiotic and biotic stresses. Such microbe can promote plant health, tolerate stress, even remediate soil pollutants, and suppress phytopathogens. Providing extra facts and a superior understanding of microbial traits underlying plant growth promotion can stir the development of microbial-based innovative solutions for the betterment of agriculture. Furthermore, the application of novel scientific approaches for facilitating the design of crop-specific microbial biofertilizers is discussed. In this context, we have highlighted the exercise of "multi-omics" methods for assessing the microbiome's impact on plant growth, health, and overall fitness via analyzing biochemical, physiological, and molecular facets. Furthermore, the role of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) based genome alteration and nanotechnology for improving the agronomic performance and rhizosphere microbiome is also briefed. In a nutshell, the paper summarizes the recent vital molecular processes that underlie the different beneficial plant-microbe interactions imperative for enhancing plant fitness and resilience under-challenged agriculture.

Tolerance of pesticides and antibiotics among beneficial soil microbes recovered from contaminated rhizosphere of edible crops

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Soil bacterial isolates were recovered from contaminated rhizosphere regions.

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Majority of bacterial isolatesshowed multifarious plant growth promoting (PGP) activities.

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Bacterial isolates exhibited a varied level of pesticide tolerance.

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Sensitivity/resistance pattern among isolates was variable

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Pesticides tolerance and antibiotic resistance among soil isolates were variably correlated

A total of 45 beneficial soil bacterial isolates (15 each of Pseudomonas, Azotobacter and phosphate solubilizing bacteria: PSB) recovered from polluted rhizosphere soils were morphologically and biochemically characterized. Bacterial isolates produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), phenolate siderophores; SA (salicylic acid) and 2, 3-dihydroxy benzoic acid (2, 3-DHBA), 1-amino cyclopropane 1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, solubilised insoluble phosphate (Pi), secreted exopolysaccharides (EPS) and produced ammonia and cyanogenic compound (HCN). Isolates were tested for their tolerance ability against 12 different agrochemicals (chemical pesticides) and 14 antibiotics. Among Pseudomonas, isolate PS1 showed maximum (2183 µg mL⁻¹) tolerance to all tested agrochemicals. Likewise, among all Azotobacter isolates (n = 15), AZ12 showed maximum (1766 µg mL⁻¹) while AZ7 had lowest (950 µg mL⁻¹) tolerance ability to all tested agrochemicals. Moreover, among phosphate solubilizing bacterial isolates, maximum (1970 µg mL⁻¹) and minimum (1308 µg mL⁻¹) tolerance to agrochemicals was represented by PSB8 and PSB13 isolates, respectively. The antibiotic sensitivity/resistance among isolates varied considerably. As an example, Pseudomonas spp. was susceptible to several antibiotics, and inhibition zone differed between 10 mm (polymyxin B) to 34 mm (nalidixic acid). Also, isolate PS2 showed resistance to erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, methicillin, novobiocin and penicillin. The resistance percentage to multiple antibiotics among Azotobacter isolates varied between 7 and 33%. Among PSB isolates, inhibition zone differed between 10 and 40 mm and maximum and minimum resistance percentage to multiple antibiotics was recorded as 47% and 20%, respectively. The persistence of pesticides in agricultural soil may contribute to an increase in multidrug resistance among soil microorganisms. In conclusion, plant growth promoting (PGP) substances releasing soil microorganisms comprising of inherent/intrinsic properties of pesticides tolerance and antibiotics resistance may provide an attractive, agronomically feasible, and long-term prospective alternative for the augmentation of edible crops. However, in future, more research is needed to uncover the molecular processes behind the development of pesticide tolerance and antibiotic resistance among soil microorganisms.

Bacillus tequilensis strain 'UPMRB9' improves biochemical attributes and nutrient accumulation in different rice varieties under salinity stress

Soil salinity exert negative impacts on agricultural production and regarded as a crucial issue in global wetland rice production (Oryza sativa L.). Indigenous salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Bacillus sp.) could be used for improving rice productivity under salinity stress. This study screened potential salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) collected from coastal salt-affected rice cultivation areas under laboratory and glasshouse conditions. Furthermore, the impacts of these PGPRs were tested on biochemical attributes and nutrient contents in various rice varieties under salt stress. The two most promising PGPR strains, i.e., 'UPMRB9' (Bacillus tequilensis 10b) and 'UPMRE6' (Bacillus aryabhattai B8W22) were selected for glasshouse trial. Results indicated that 'UPMRB9' improved osmoprotectant properties, i.e., proline and total soluble sugar (TSS), antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT). Moreover, 'UPMRB9' inoculated rice plants accumulated higher amount of nitrogen and calcium in tissues. Therefore, the indigenous salt-tolerant PGPR strain 'UPMRB9' could be used as a potential bio-augmentor for improving biochemical attributes and nutrient uptake in rice plants under salinity stress. This study could serve as a preliminary basis for future large-scale trials under glasshouse and field conditions.

Alleviation of salinity and metal stress using plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria isolated from semiarid Moroccan copper-mine soils

Phytoremediation is an eco-friendly method for rehabilitation of mine tailing. Some heavy metals and salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) could be beneficial in alleviating soil salinity and heavy metal stress during plant growth. The aim of this work is to select PGPR that could be used in phytoremediation process. Twenty-nine rhizobacteria are examined for their ability to grow at increasing concentrations of NaCl, Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd. The results showed that seventeen rhizobacteria displayed high salinity and metal tolerance up to 100 g L^-1 of NaCl, 5 mM of Cd, 9 mM of Pb, 10 mM of Zn, and 6 mM of Cu. Moreover, almost all tested bacteria maintained their PGP traits under 10% of NaCl and multi-metal stress. Based on seedling bioassay under metallic and salt stress, using Peganum harmala L. and Lactuca sativa L., beneficial effects of seed inoculation with bacterial consortia (Mesorhizobium tamadayense, Enterobacter xiangfangensis, Pseudomonas azotifigens, and Streptomyces caelestis) have been observed in terms of root and shoot elongation. Our results show that the stress-tolerant consortium used has a great potential to sustain plants establishment in heavily disturbed soils.

Reducing Drought Stress in Plants by Encapsulating Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria with Polysaccharides

Drought is a major abiotic stress imposed by climate change that affects crop production and soil microbial functions. Plants respond to water deficits at the morphological, biochemical, and physiological levels, and invoke different adaptation mechanisms to tolerate drought stress. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) can help to alleviate drought stress in plants through various strategies, including phytohormone production, the solubilization of mineral nutrients, and the production of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase and osmolytes. However, PGPB populations and functions are influenced by adverse soil factors, such as drought. Therefore, maintaining the viability and stability of PGPB applied to arid soils requires that the PGPB have to be protected by suitable coatings. The encapsulation of PGPB is one of the newest and most efficient techniques for protecting beneficial bacteria against unfavorable soil conditions. Coatings made from polysaccharides, such as sodium alginate, chitosan, starch, cellulose, and their derivatives, can absorb and retain substantial amounts of water in the interstitial sites of their structures, thereby promoting bacterial survival and better plant growth.

Co-inoculation of rhizobacteria promotes growth, yield, and nutrient contents in soybean and improves soil enzymes and nutrients under drought conditions

Drought stress is the major abiotic factor limiting crop production. Co-inoculating crops with nitrogen fixing bacteria and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) improves plant growth and increases drought tolerance in arid or semiarid areas. Soybean is a major source of high-quality protein and oil for humans. It is susceptible to drought stress conditions. The co-inoculation of drought-stressed soybean with nodulating rhizobia and root-colonizing, PGPR improves the root and the shoot growth, formation of nodules, and nitrogen fixation capacity in soybean. The present study was aimed to observe if the co-inoculation of soybean (Glycine max L. (Merr.) nodulating with Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 and PGPR Pseudomonas putida NUU8 can enhance drought tolerance, nodulation, plant growth, and nutrient uptake under drought conditions. The results of the study showed that co-inoculation with B. japonicum USDA110 and P. putida NUU8 gave more benefits in nodulation and growth of soybean compared to plants inoculated with B. japonicum USDA110 alone and uninoculated control. Under drought conditions, co-inoculation of B. japonicum USDA 110 and P. putida NUU8 significantly enhanced the root length by 56%, shoot length by 33%, root dry weight by 47%, shoot dry weight by 48%, and nodule number 17% compared to the control under drought-stressed. Co-inoculation with B. japonicum, USDA 110 and P. putida NUU8 significantly enhanced plant and soil nutrients and soil enzymes compared to control under normal and drought stress conditions. The synergistic use of B. japonicum USDA110 and P. putida NUU8 improves plant growth and nodulation of soybean under drought stress conditions. The results suggested that these strains could be used to formulate a consortium of biofertilizers for sustainable production of soybean under drought-stressed field conditions.

Drought Tolerant Enterobacter sp./Leclercia adecarboxylata Secretes Indole-3-acetic Acid and Other Biomolecules and Enhances the Biological Attributes of Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek in Water Deficit Conditions

Drought or water stress is a limiting factor that hampers the growth and yield of edible crops. Drought-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can mitigate water stress in crops by synthesizing multiple bioactive molecules. Here, strain PAB19 recovered from rhizospheric soil was biochemically and molecularly characterized, and identified as Enterobacter sp./Leclercia adecarboxylata (MT672579.1). Strain PAB19 tolerated an exceptionally high level of drought (18% PEG-6000) and produced indole-3-acetic acid (176.2 ± 5.6 µg mL-1), ACC deaminase (56.6 ± 5.0 µg mL-1), salicylic acid (42.5 ± 3.0 µg mL-1), 2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid (DHBA) (44.3 ± 2.3 µg mL-1), exopolysaccharide (204 ± 14.7 µg mL-1), alginate (82.3 ± 6.5 µg mL-1), and solubilized tricalcium phosphate (98.3 ± 3.5 µg mL-1), in the presence of 15% polyethylene glycol. Furthermore, strain PAB19 alleviated water stress and significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved the overall growth and biochemical attributes of Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek. For instance, at 2% PEG stress, PAB19 inoculation maximally increased germination, root dry biomass, leaf carotenoid content, nodule biomass, leghaemoglobin (LHb) content, leaf water potential (ΨL), membrane stability index (MSI), and pod yield by 10%, 7%, 14%, 38%, 9%, 17%, 11%, and 11%, respectively, over un-inoculated plants. Additionally, PAB19 inoculation reduced two stressor metabolites, proline and malondialdehyde, and antioxidant enzymes (POD, SOD, CAT, and GR) levels in V. radiata foliage in water stress conditions. Following inoculation of strain PAB19 with 15% PEG in soil, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, transpiration rate, water vapor deficit, intrinsic water use efficiency, and photosynthetic rate were significantly improved by 12%, 8%, 42%, 10%, 9% and 16%, respectively. Rhizospheric CFU counts of PAB19 were 2.33 and 2.11 log CFU g-1 after treatment with 15% PEG solution and 8.46 and 6.67 log CFU g-1 for untreated controls at 40 and 80 DAS, respectively. Conclusively, this study suggests the potential of Enterobacter sp./L. adecarboxylata PAB19 to alleviate water stress by improving the biological and biochemical features and of V. radiata under water-deficit conditions.

Synergistic effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and silicon dioxide nano-particles for amelioration of drought stress in wheat

Drought tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can confer drought tolerance in plants, when inoculated, and this effect can be more pronounced by their combined application with silicon oxide nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs). In this research, drought-tolerant and plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial strains were isolated from the rhizospheric soil of wheat plants growing in the arid region of Pakistan. Out of 30 isolated strains, three rhizobacterial strains were selected based on their drought tolerance, higher phytohormones (indole acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), and cytokinin (CK), and osmolyte (proline and sugar) production ability. These strains were identified as Bacillus sp. Azospirillum lipoferum and Azospirillum brasilense by 16S rRNA sequencing and accession numbers (MT482404, MT742664, and MT 742666, respectively) were obtained. Inoculation of these strains, alone and in combination, improved the germination attributes of wheat seeds under drought stress conditions. However, the combination of all three bacterial strains gave the best results. SiO₂ NPs were prepared from silicon dioxide and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-rays pattern (EDX), and UV-visible spectrum. The effect of SiO₂ NPs was also tested on wheat seeds under drought stress and it was observed that SiO₂ NPs (150 mg/L) create pronounced drought ameliorative potential in wheat seedlings. In the pot experiment, the combined application of SiO₂ NPs and PGPR exhibited a synergistic role and improved the growth and yield of wheat. The interaction between SiO₂ NPs and bacterial combination improved biomass (fresh and dry weight), and chlorophyll-a, b content by 138.78%, 65.70%, 128.57%, and 283.33% respectively as compared to untreated but drought exposed plants. They also improved relative water content (71.66%), gas exchange attributes, increased nutrients uptake, and osmolytes production of wheat. Up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase (60.49%), peroxidase (55.99%), and catalase (81.69%) was also observed. This research work suggested that the application of SiO₂ NPs and PGPR strains induced drought tolerance in wheat by modulating different physiological and metabolic processes in plants which ultimately improved the growth and yield of wheat under drought stress.

Bacterial Exopolysaccharides: Insight into Their Role in Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Various abiotic stressors like drought, salinity, temperature, and heavy metals are major environmental stresses that affect agricultural productivity and crop yields all over the world. Continuous changes in climatic conditions put selective pressure on the microbial ecosystem to produce exopolysaccharides. Apart from soil aggregation, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production also helps in increasing water permeability, nutrient uptake by roots, soil stability, soil fertility, plant biomass, chlorophyll content, root and shoot length, and surface area of leaves while also helping maintain metabolic and physiological activities during drought stress. EPS-producing microbes can impart salt tolerance to plants by binding to sodium ions in the soil and preventing these ions from reaching the stem, thereby decreasing sodium absorption from the soil and increasing nutrient uptake by the roots. Biofilm formation in high-salinity soils increases cell viability, enhances soil fertility, and promotes plant growth and development. The third environmental stressor is presence of heavy metals in the soil due to improper industrial waste disposal practices that are toxic for plants. EPS production by soil bacteria can result in the biomineralization of metal ions, thereby imparting metal stress tolerance to plants. Finally, high temperatures can also affect agricultural productivity by decreasing plant metabolism, seedling growth, and seed germination. The present review discusses the role of exopolysaccharide-producing plant growth-promoting bacteria in modulating plant growth and development in plants and alleviating extreme abiotic stress condition. The review suggests exploring the potential of EPS-producing bacteria for multiple abiotic stress management strategies.

Insights into the Interactions among Roots, Rhizosphere, and Rhizobacteria for Improving Plant Growth and Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses: A Review

Abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity, heavy metals, variations in temperature, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation, are antagonistic to plant growth and development, resulting in an overall decrease in plant yield. These stresses have direct effects on the rhizosphere, thus severely affect the root growth, and thereby affecting the overall plant growth, health, and productivity. However, the growth-promoting rhizobacteria that colonize the rhizosphere/endorhizosphere protect the roots from the adverse effects of abiotic stress and facilitate plant growth by various direct and indirect mechanisms. In the rhizosphere, plants are constantly interacting with thousands of these microorganisms, yet it is not very clear when and how these complex root, rhizosphere, and rhizobacteria interactions occur under abiotic stresses. Therefore, the present review attempts to focus on root–rhizosphere and rhizobacterial interactions under stresses, how roots respond to these interactions, and the role of rhizobacteria under these stresses. Further, the review focuses on the underlying mechanisms employed by rhizobacteria for improving root architecture and plant tolerance to abiotic stresses.

Insights into the plant responses to drought and decoding the potential of root associated microbiome for inducing drought tolerance

Global increase in water scarcity is a serious problem for sustaining crop productivity. The lack of water causes the degeneration of the photosynthetic apparatus, an imbalance in key metabolic pathways, an increase in free radical generation as well as weakens the root architecture of plants. Drought is one of the major stresses that directly interferes with the osmotic status of plant cells. Abscisic acid (ABA) is known to be a key player in the modulation of drought responses in plants and involvement of both ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways have been observed during drought. Concomitantly, other phytohormones such as auxins, ethylene, gibberellins, cytokinins, jasmonic acid also confer drought tolerance and a crosstalk between different phytohormones and transcription factors at the molecular level exists. A number of drought-responsive genes and transcription factors have been utilized for producing transgenic plants for improved drought tolerance. Despite relentless efforts, biotechnological advances have failed to design completely stress tolerant plants until now. The root microbiome is the hidden treasure that possesses immense potential to revolutionize the strategies for inducing drought resistance in plants. Root microbiota consist of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, endophytes and mycorrhizas that form a consortium with the roots. Rhizospheric microbes are proliferous producers of phytohormones, mainly auxins, cytokinin, and ethylene as well as enzymes like the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACC deaminase) and metabolites like exopolysaccharides that help to induce systemic tolerance against drought. This review, therefore focuses on the major mechanisms of plant-microbe interactions under drought-stressed conditions and emphasizes the importance of drought-tolerant microbes for sustaining and improving the productivity of crop plants under stress.

Mesorhizobium ciceri as biological tool for improving physiological, biochemical and antioxidant state of Cicer aritienum (L.) under fungicide stress

Fungicides among agrochemicals are consistently used in high throughput agricultural practices to protect plants from damaging impact of phytopathogens and hence to optimize crop production. However, the negative impact of fungicides on composition and functions of soil microbiota, plants and via food chain, on human health is a matter of grave concern. Considering such agrochemical threats, the present study was undertaken to know that how fungicide-tolerant symbiotic bacterium, Mesorhizobium ciceri affects the Cicer arietinum crop while growing in kitazin (KITZ) stressed soils under greenhouse conditions. Both in vitro and soil systems, KITZ imparted deleterious impacts on C. arietinum as a function of dose. The three-time more of normal rate of KITZ dose detrimentally but maximally reduced the germination efficiency, vigor index, dry matter production, symbiotic features, leaf pigments and seed attributes of C. arietinum. KITZ-induced morphological alterations in root tips, oxidative damage and cell death in root cells of C. arietinum were visible under scanning electron microscope (SEM). M. ciceri tolerated up to 2400 µg mL-1 of KITZ, synthesized considerable amounts of bioactive molecules including indole-3-acetic-acid (IAA), 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, siderophores, exopolysaccharides (EPS), hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and solubilised inorganic phosphate even in fungicide-stressed media. Following application to soil, M. ciceri improved performance of C. arietinum and enhanced dry biomass production, yield, symbiosis and leaf pigments even in a fungicide-polluted environment. At 96 µg KITZ kg-1 soil, M. ciceri maximally and significantly (p ≤ 0.05) augmented the length of plants by 41%, total dry matter by 18%, carotenoid content by 9%, LHb content by 21%, root N by 9%, shoot P by 11% and pod yield by 15% over control plants. Additionally, the nodule bacterium M. ciceri efficiently colonized the plant rhizosphere/rhizoplane and considerably decreased the levels of stressor molecules (proline and malondialdehyde) and antioxidant defence enzymes viz. ascorbate peroxidise (APX), guaiacol peroxidise (GPX), catalase (CAT) and peroxidises (POD) of C. arietinum plants when inoculated in soil. The symbiotic strain effectively colonized the plant rhizosphere/rhizoplane. Conclusively, the ability to endure higher fungicide concentrations, capacity to secrete plant growth modulators even under fungicide pressure, and inherent features to lower the level of proline and plant defence enzymes makes this M. ciceri as a superb choice for augmenting the safe production of C. arietinum even under fungicide-contaminated soils.

Water Conservation and Plant Survival Strategies of Rhizobacteria under Drought Stress

Drylands are stressful environment for plants growth and production. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) acts as a rampart against the adverse impacts of drought stress in drylands and enhances plant growth and is helpful in agricultural sustainability. PGPR improves drought tolerance by implicating physio-chemical modifications called rhizobacterial-induced drought endurance and resilience (RIDER). The RIDER response includes; alterations of phytohormonal levels, metabolic adjustments, production of bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS), biofilm formation, and antioxidant resistance, including the accumulation of many suitable organic solutes such as carbohydrates, amino acids, and polyamines. Modulation of moisture status by these PGPRs is one of the primary mechanisms regulating plant growth, but studies on their effect on plant survival are scarce in sandy/desert soil. It was found that inoculated plants showed high tolerance to water-deficient conditions by delaying dehydration and maintaining the plant’s water status at an optimal level. PGPR inoculated plants had a high recovery rate after rewatering interms of similar biomass at flowering compared to non-stressed plants. These rhizobacteria enhance plant tolerance and also elicit induced systemic resistance of plants to water scarcity. PGPR also improves the root growth and root architecture, thereby improving nutrient and water uptake. PGPR promoted accumulation of stress-responsive plant metabolites such as amino acids, sugars, and sugar alcohols. These metabolites play a substantial role in regulating plant growth and development and strengthen the plant’s defensive system against various biotic and abiotic stresses, in particular drought stress.

Exopolysaccharides Producing Bacteria for the Amelioration of Drought Stress in Wheat

This research was designed to elucidate the role of exopolysaccharides (EPS) producing bacterial strains for the amelioration of drought stress in wheat. Bacterial strains were isolated from a farmer’s field in the arid region of Pakistan. Out of 24 isolated stains, two bacterial strains, Bacillus subtilis (Accession No. MT742976) and Azospirillum brasilense (Accession No. MT742977) were selected, based on their ability to produce EPS and withstand drought stress. Both bacterial strains produced a good amount of EPS and osmolytes and exhibited drought tolerance individually, however, a combination of these strains produced higher amounts of EPS (sugar 6976 µg/g, 731.5 µg/g protein, and 1.1 mg/g uronic acid) and osmolytes (proline 4.4 µg/mg and sugar 79 µg/mg) and significantly changed the level of stress-induced phytohormones (61%, 49% and 30% decrease in Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Gibberellic Acid (GA), and Cytokinin (CK)) respectively under stress, but an increase of 27.3% in Abscisic acid (ABA) concentration was observed. When inoculated, the combination of these strains improved seed germination, seedling vigor index, and promptness index by 18.2%, 23.7%, and 61.5% respectively under osmotic stress (20% polyethylene glycol, PEG6000). They also promoted plant growth in a pot experiment with an increase of 42.9%, 29.8%, and 33.7% in shoot length, root length, and leaf area, respectively. Physiological attributes of plants were also improved by bacterial inoculation showing an increase of 39.8%, 61.5%, and 45% in chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid content respectively, as compared to control. Inoculations of bacterial strains also increased the production of osmolytes such asproline, amino acid, sugar, and protein by 30%, 23%, 68%, and 21.7% respectively. Co-inoculation of these strains enhanced the production of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) by 35.1%, catalase (CAT) by 77.4%, and peroxidase (POD) by 40.7%. Findings of the present research demonstrated that EPS, osmolyte, stress hormones, and antioxidant enzyme-producing bacterial strains impart drought tolerance in wheat and improve its growth, morphological attributes, physiological parameters, osmolytes production, and increase antioxidant enzymes.