ACCd and PGPRs: increasing plant productivity for more sustainable agricultural practices

Abstract

Our current world population is nearly 8 billion people, and it is expected to reach 10 billion by the year 2055 (Schultz, 2018). As the population continues to experience exponential growth patterns, we are faced with increasing concerns regarding food security. Indeed, as of 2020, millions of people are experiencing hunger or food insecurity, especially those in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia (FAO, 2021). A great deal of food insecurity is indirectly caused by climate change because product yield is not sufficient to reach increasing food demands (FAO, 2021). Climate change is causing warmer winters and unpredictable precipitation, resulting in poor growing conditions for crops (Wheaton & Kulshreshtha, 2017; Qian et al., 2011). In order to achieve high quality and quantity product yield, crops require rich soil conditions generated by sufficient periods of rainfall. This article discusses the effects of climate change on agriculture, with emphasis on aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase (ACCd), an enzyme that plays an important role in increasing drought and salinity tolerance in plants.