Exploring the Biological Pathways of Siderophores and Their Multidisciplinary Applications: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Siderophores are a class of small molecules renowned for their high iron binding capacity, essential for all life forms requiring iron. This article provides a detailed review of the diverse classifications, and biosynthetic pathways of siderophores, with a particular emphasis on siderophores synthesized via nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and non-NRPS pathways. We further explore the secretion mechanisms of siderophores in microbes and plants, and their role in regulating bioavailable iron levels. Beyond biological functions, the applications of siderophores in medicine, agriculture, and environmental sciences are extensively discussed. These applications include biological pest control, disease treatment, ecological pollution remediation, and heavy metal ion removal. Through a comprehensive analysis of the chemical properties and biological activities of siderophores, this paper demonstrates their wide prospects in scientific research and practical applications, while also highlighting current research gaps and potential future directions.

A novel exopolysaccharide-producing bacterium, Pseudescherichia liriopis sp. nov. isolated from Liriope platyphylla, enhances the growth of Daucus carota subsp. sativus under drought and salinity stress

“…The ability of phosphate solubilization is crucial as it enhances the availability and absorption of essential mineral nutrients by plants ( Arif et al., 2017 ). Genera known as siderophore producing bacteria, such as Pseudomonas , Bacillus , and Rhizobium , improve iron absorption, making plants stronger and more effective in suppressing pathogens ( Abo-Zaid et al., 2020 ; Sun et al., 2022 ; Xie et al., 2024 ). We experimentally demonstrated the ability of the L3 T strain to synthesize siderophores, fix nitrogen, solubilize phosphate, and synthesize IAA and identified IAA production, phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, and siderophore gene clusters in the NCBI annotation and genes associated with plant growth promotion.…”