Coping with salt stress-interaction of halotolerant bacteria in crop plants: A mini review

Abstract

Salinity is one of the major environmental abiotic stress factors that limit the growth and yield of crop plants worldwide. It is crucial to understand the importance of several adaptive mechanisms in plants toward salt stress so as to increase agricultural productivity. Plant resilience toward salinity stress is improved by cohabiting with diverse microorganisms, especially bacteria. In the last few decades, increasing attention of researchers has focused on bacterial communities for promoting plant growth and fitness. The biotechnological applications of salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) gained widespread interest for their numerous metabolites. This review provides novel insights into the importance of halotolerant (HT) bacteria associated with crop plants in enhancing plant tolerance toward salinity stress. Furthermore, the present review highlights several challenges of using HT-PGPR in the agricultural field and possible solutions to overcome those challenges for sustainable agriculture development in the future.

Halomonas ventosae JPT10 promotes salt tolerance in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) by affecting the levels of multiple antioxidants and phytohormones

“…Moreover, JPT10 may support osmotic equilibrium in foxtail millet seedlings during salt stress. PGPBs protect plants from salt stress damage through osmotic adjustment (de Andrade et al, 2023 ; Giannelli et al, 2023 ; Kumar et al, 2021 ; Kumawat et al, 2022 ; Ramasamy & Mahawar, 2023 ). The bacterial regulation of the concentration of trehalose, proline, and other osmolytes in plants is one of the mechanisms behind induced plant tolerance to desiccation (Ali & Khan, 2021 ; Sandhya et al, 2010 ; Yang et al, 2010 ).…”

“…In addition, hormone production is another important mechanism for PGPBs to protect plants against salt stress (de Andrade et al, 2023 ; Giannelli et al, 2023 ; Kumar et al, 2021 ; Kumawat et al, 2022 ; Ramasamy & Mahawar, 2023 ). Our findings support the notion that ABA influence the response to salt stress in foxtail millet since the elevated levels of them were caused by the combination of JPT10 and salt stress rather than salt stress alone (Figure 4b ).…”

Soil salinization in agriculture: Mitigation and adaptation strategies combining nature-based solutions and bioengineering

“…However, it is crucial to accurately select suitable and efficient bioinoculants. 64 It should be noted that the efficiency of salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria may vary depending on the climate in different ecological zones. 55 In field conditions, certain bacterial strains may exhibit an inability to successfully colonize the roots, resulting in a diminished capacity to promote plant growth compared to laboratory-controlled conditions.…”

“…Regardless, there is increasing empirical evidence that, by implementing inoculations on a large scale, agricultural sustainability in the saline environment could be advanced. 64 It must be observed that, while promising, this practice is not without criticisms and is attracting growing attention as the market of soil microbial inoculants expands. Introducing microbial inoculants into new ecosystems raises concerns, as the release of alien species poses a potential risk of compromising ecological integrity and endangering indigenous communities vulnerable to introduced species.…”

Molecular mechanism of endophytic bacteria DX120E regulating polyamine metabolism and promoting plant growth in sugarcane

“…Endophytic bacteria that have the ability to colonize the inside the plants tissue is a subclass of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). PGPB commonly known as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) ( Palacios et al., 2014 ) are bacteria that boost plant development and promote soil bioremediation by secreting a variety of metabolites and hormones ( Peng et al., 2021 ), through nitrogen fixation ( Din et al., 2021 ), and by increasing other nutrients’ bioavailability through mineral solubilization ( Poria et al., 2022 ; Ramasamy and Mahawar, 2023 ). Diverse endophytic bacteria associated with sugarcane have been reported to affect their growth and development significantly ( Xing et al., 2016 ; Guo et al., 2022 ).…”