Environmental interference of plant−microbe interactions

Abstract

Environmental stresses can compromise the interactions of plants with beneficial microbes. In the present review, experimental results showing that stresses negatively affect the abundance and/or functionality of plant beneficial microbes are summarized. It is proposed that the environmental interference of these plant−microbe interactions is explained by the stress‐mediated induction of plant signalling pathways associated with defence hormones and reactive oxygen species. These plant responses are recognized to regulate beneficial microbes within plants. The direct negative effect of stresses on microbes may also contribute to the environmental regulation of these plant mutualisms. It is also posited that, in stress situations, beneficial microbes harbour mechanisms that contribute to maintain the mutualistic associations. Beneficial microbes produce effector proteins and increase the antioxidant levels in plants that counteract the detrimental effects of plant stress responses on them. In addition, they deliver specific stress‐protective mechanisms that assist to their plant hosts to mitigate the negative effects of stresses. Our study contributes to understanding how environmental stresses affect plant−microbe interactions and highlights why beneficial microbes can still deliver benefits to plants in stressful environments.

The soil microbiome affects patterns of local adaptation in an alpine plant under moisture stress

“…For example, environmental stress can determine the proportion of pathogens and mutualists, with fewer pathogens tending to be present under higher abiotic stress (Lau and Lennon, 2012;Hernandez et al, 2021). In addition, previous work has found greater benefits to fitness in plants associating with microbes under greater nutrient limitation (Johnson, 1993;Hacquard et al, 2016;David et al, 2020;Fuggle et al, 2023), less water availability (Petipas et al, 2020;Basyal and Emery, 2021), higher salinity (Lumibao et al, 2022), and greater biotic stress (Bastías et al, 2022). Dry meadow populations may have exhibited strong local adaptation because selection strength is higher in more stressful (dry) environments (Parsons, 2005;Agrawal and Whitlock, 2010).…”

The Surprising Dynamics of Electrochemical Coupling at Membrane Sandwiches in Plants

“…Remote control of transport processes at sandwich membranes was also deduced from the analysis of the interaction of plants with other organisms, in particular with fungi. In mycorrhizal associations, fungi colonize the root tissue of a host plant, either intracellularly, as in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF or AM), or extracellularly, as in ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. In both cases, this creates a membrane sandwich structure of plant plasma membrane and fungal plasma membrane with a tiny apoplastic interorganismic space.…”

The endophytic fungusSerendipita indicaalters auxin distribution inArabidopsis thalianaroots through alteration of auxin transport and conjugation to promote plant growth

“…The application of beneficial microbial symbionts as biofertilizers to boost crop productivity might be a solution to considerably improve agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner (Pérez-Alonso et al, 2020). There are numerous examples of growth-promoting microbes in the literature and how abiotic stresses affect the interaction between plants and microbes has just recently been reviewed (Bastías et al, 2022). However, to fully exploit the described interactions between plants and their symbionts, it is paramount to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms that build the framework of these interactions.…”