Bacillus spp. as Bioagents: Uses and Application for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Food security will be a substantial issue in the near future due to the expeditiously growing global population. The current trend in the agriculture industry entails the extravagant use of synthesized pesticides and fertilizers, making sustainability a difficult challenge. Land degradation, lower production, and vulnerability to both abiotic and biotic stresses are problems caused by the usage of these pesticides and fertilizers. The major goal of sustainable agriculture is to ameliorate productivity and reduce pests and disease prevalence to such a degree that prevents large-scale damage to crops. Agriculture is a composite interrelation among plants, microbes, and soil. Plant microbes play a major role in growth promotion and improve soil fertility as well. Bacillus spp. produces an extensive range of bio-chemicals that assist in plant disease control, promote plant development, and make them suitable for agricultural uses. Bacillus spp. support plant growth by N fixation, P and K solubilization, and phytohormone synthesis, in addition to being the most propitious biocontrol agent. Moreover, Bacilli excrete extracellular metabolites, including antibiotics, lytic enzymes, and siderophores, and demonstrate antagonistic activity against phytopathogens. Bacillus spp. boosts plant resistance toward pathogens by inducing systemic resistance (ISR). The most effective microbial insecticide against insects and pests in agriculture is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Additionally, the incorporation of toxin genes in genetically modified crops increases resistance to insects and pests. There is a constant increase in the identified Bacillus species as potential biocontrol agents. Moreover, they have been involved in the biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles. The main objective of this review article is to display the uses and application of Bacillus specie as a promising biopesticide in sustainable agriculture. Bacillus spp. strains that are antagonistic and promote plant yield attributes could be valuable in developing novel formulations to lead the way toward sustainable agriculture.

Isolation and Identification of Bacterial Soft-Rot-Causing Isolates from Cassava, Homa-Bay County, Kenya

“…Surprisingly, a contrasting observation was made for another isolate, B5 This intriguing association of Bacillus spp. with plant diseases contradicts the typical trend where they have demonstrated potential as biocontrol agents [35,36,37]. In fact, previous studies have documented several of these species as being phytopathogenic [38,39,40].…”

Biocontrol mechanisms of Bacillus: Improving the efficiency of green agriculture

“…engages a number of patterns to protect plants from various pathogens (Blake et al, 2021 ; Chowdhury et al, 2015 ; Erlacher et al, 2014 ; Kloepper et al, 2004 ; Tao et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2015 ; Figure 1 ). Since the traditional biocontrol mechanisms by Bacillus spp., including antibiosis, competition, and induced systemic resistance (ISR), have been comprehensively summarized in several recent reviews (Adeniji et al, 2019 ; Blake et al, 2021 ; Hou & Kolodkin‐Gal, 2020 ; Khan et al, 2022 ; Kulkova et al, 2023 ; Salazar et al, 2023 ), these sections are briefly addressed in this review. Comparatively, two novel mechanisms as interfering with pathogen quorum sensing (QS) and reshaping of the soil microbiome are emphatically discussed in detail.…”

The Extracellular Lipopeptides and Volatile Organic Compounds of Bacillus subtilis DHA41 Display Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Activity against Soil-Borne Phytopathogenic Fungi

“…Biological control of soil-borne plant diseases using beneficial microbes and their active metabolites is an effective and sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides [ 4 , 5 ]. Among these beneficial microbes, bacterial strains from the genus Bacillus , such as Bacillus subtilis , Bacillus velezensis , and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens , have been extensively exploited for their potentials in managing soil-borne fungal diseases [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Different Bacillus species (spp.)…”