Abstract
Rhizosphere and plant-associated microorganisms have been intensely studied for their beneficial effects on plant growth and health. These mainly include nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB) and plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). This beneficial fraction is involved in major functions such as plant nutrition and plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, which include water deficiency and heavy-metal contamination. Consequently, crop yield emerges as the net result of the interactions between the plant genome and its associated microbiome. Here, we provide a review covering recent studies on PGP rhizobia as effective inoculants for agricultural practices in harsh soil, and we propose models for inoculant combinations and genomic manipulation strategies to improve crop yield.
Highlights
The last ten years have witnessed a number of discoveries and an increased awareness of the importance of the microbiome for the health and the growth of host macroorganisms [1,2]
Crop productivity could be increased by modifying root microbiota with microbial inoculants, which may be composed of a single strain or a consortia of different plant-growth promoting (PGP) rhizobacteria (PGPR) [13,14]
The studies were mainly spurred by an increasing requirement for plant proteins, which is due to the increasing worldwide human population and the need to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers
Summary
The last ten years have witnessed a number of discoveries and an increased awareness of the importance of the microbiome for the health and the growth of host macroorganisms [1,2]. Plants and their related microbiota can be considered holobionts, complex systems ruled by interdependent and composite interactions [3,4,5]. Plants influence the composition of their rhizosphere microbiota through the production of root exudates [8], which differ in space and time [9], contributing to the positive selection of plant-growth promoting (PGP) and beneficial bacteria [10]. Models of inoculant combinations and genomic manipulation strategies for the improvement of crop yield are discussed
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