Unveiling the Potential of Bioinoculants and Nanoparticles in Sustainable Agriculture for Enhanced Plant Growth and Food Security

The increasing public concern over the negative impacts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on food security and sustainability has led to exploring innovative methods that offer both environmental and agricultural benefits. One such innovative approach is using plant-growth-promoting bioinoculants that involve bacteria, fungi, and algae. These living microorganisms are applied to soil, seeds, or plant surfaces and can enhance plant development by increasing nutrient availability and defense against plant pathogens. However, the application of biofertilizers in the field faced many challenges and required conjunction with innovative delivering approaches. Nanotechnology has gained significant attention in recent years due to its numerous applications in various fields, such as medicine, drug development, catalysis, energy, and materials. Nanoparticles with small sizes and large surface areas (1-100 nm) have numerous potential functions. In sustainable agriculture, the development of nanochemicals has shown promise as agents for plant growth, fertilizers, and pesticides. The use of nanomaterials is being considered as a solution to control plant pests, including insects, fungi, and weeds. In the food industry, nanoparticles are used as antimicrobial agents in food packaging, with silver nanomaterials being particularly interesting. However, many nanoparticles (Ag, Fe, Cu, Si, Al, Zn, ZnO, TiO2, CeO2, Al2O3, and carbon nanotubes) have been reported to negatively affect plant growth. This review focuses on the effects of nanoparticles on beneficial plant bacteria and their ability to promote plant growth. Implementing novel sustainable strategies in agriculture, biofertilizers, and nanoparticles could be a promising solution to achieve sustainable food production while reducing the negative environmental impacts.

Effect of maize root exudates on indole-3-acetic acid production by rice endophytic bacteria under influence of L-tryptophan

Background: It is assumed that plant growth regulators produced by beneficial bacterial species could also influence plant growth. IAA is a major plant growth regulator responsible for stimulation of plant growth. There are several microorganisms which are naturally responsible for L- tryptophan metabolism.

Methods: In total, 56 indigenous morphologically distinct isolates from rice roots were selected and subsequently characterized with biochemical tests, 16S rRNA sequencing and plant growth promoting activities. Pseudomonasfluorescens RE1 (GenBank: MF102882.1) and RE17 (GenBank: MF103672.1) endophytes resulted in better PGP activity against the other 54 isolates. Both endophytes were tested to screen indole-3-acetic acid production ability in pure culture conditions with L-tryptophan at 0, 50, 100, 200 and 500µg/ml concentrations.

Results: P. fluorescens RE1 was recorded efficient for indole production in comparison to P. fluorescens RE17 at various L-tryptophan concentrations. P. fluorescens RE1 was shown to produce between 0.8 µg/ml and 11.5µg/ml of indole at various tryptophan concentrations, while RE17 produced between 1.2µg/ml and 10.2µg/ml. At 200 and 500µg/ml tryptophan concentration, P. fluorescens RE17 produced 7.4pmol/ml and 9.3pmol/ml IAA, respectively. 

Conclusions: Inoculation of maize seed with P. fluorescens RE1 and RE17 showed a significantly higher level of IAA production in comparison to non-inoculated seeds. Current study outcomes proved that plant growth regulators produced by Pseudomonas species could also play a critical role in plant growth promotion.