Plant-Microbe Interactions in Alleviating Abiotic Stress—A Mini Review

Abstract

Crop plants are continuously exposed to various abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, ultraviolet radiation, low and high temperatures, flooding, metal toxicities, nutrient deficiencies which act as limiting factors that hampers plant growth and low agricultural productivity. Climate change and intensive agricultural practices has further aggravated the impact of abiotic stresses leading to a substantial crop loss worldwide. Crop plants have to get acclimatized to various environmental abiotic stress factors. Though genetic engineering is applied to improve plants tolerance to abiotic stresses, these are long-term strategies, and many countries have not accepted them worldwide. Therefore, use of microbes can be an economical and ecofriendly tool to avoid the shortcomings of other strategies. The microbial community in close proximity to the plant roots is so diverse in nature and can play an important role in mitigating the abiotic stresses. Plant-associated microorganisms, such as endophytes, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), are well-documented for their role in promoting crop productivity and providing stress tolerance. This mini review highlights and discusses the current knowledge on the role of various microbes and it's tolerance mechanisms which helps the crop plants to mitigate and tolerate varied abiotic stresses.

Seasonal Shifts in Soil Microbiome Structure Are Associated with the Cultivation of the Local Runner Bean Variety around the Lake Mikri Prespa

“…Plant–microbe interactions are critical for plant nutrient acquisition, development, and alleviating the effects of adverse environmental conditions [ 58 , 59 ], whilst microbe–microbe interactions play an important role in shaping microbiota structure in plant systems [ 60 ]. In this concept, an active soil microbiota plays an important role in various soil-based ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, erosion control, and pest and disease regulation.…”

Management of abiotic stresses by microbiome-based engineering of the rhizosphere

“…There are several reports which demonstrate that microbe‐mediated abiotic stress mitigation occurs through a range of mechanisms in plant systems. Studies based on multiomics approaches have resulted in an improved understanding of plant‐microbe interactions, thus enabling advancements in microbe‐mediated stress management (Inbaraj, 2021; Khan et al, 2021; Kumar et al, 2020; Mathur & Roy, 2021; Meena et al, 2017). However, similar progress is yet to be made in the arena of microbiome‐mediated rhizospheric engineering.…”

Abundance, diversity, and composition of root-associated microbial communities varied with tall fescue cultivars under water deficit

“…Drought has been established as the greatest culprit limiting agricultural production because it can stunt the growth of crops by adversely impacting crop physiology and reducing soil nutrient availability ( Bista et al, 2018 ). Decades of studies support that soil- and phytomicrobiomes are able to help ameliorate plant drought resistance via regulating phytohormone production, scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), and improving plant nutrient acquisition ( Farooq et al, 2009 ; Naylor and Coleman-Derr, 2017 ; Xi et al, 2018 ; Inbaraj, 2021 ). However, the extent and manner by which microbes confer plant drought resistance are plant species- and microhabitat-specific ( Naylor et al, 2017 ; Wang et al, 2020 ).…”