Functional Diversity of Microbes in Rhizosphere: A Key Player for Soil Health Conservation Under Changing Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Under changing climatic conditions, the negative impact on the soil leads to damage and destruction of soil and plant health. Here, plant microbiome (including both rhizospheric and phyllospheric) is crucial in plant growth promotion, recycling of nutrient, and reestablishing a safe and sustainable ecosystem. The microbes associated with plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits have surfaced as substantial and conducive sustainable agriculture tool. PGP microbes stimulate growth of plant either directly via releasing plant growth regulators, solubilizing phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, and biological nitrogen fixation or indirectly by the production of siderophore, ammonia, HCN, and other secondary metabolites, which are hostile to pathogenic microbes. The PGP microbes belonged to different genera such as Achromobacter, Aspergillus, Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Erwinia, Methylobacterium, Paenibacillus, Pantoea, Penicillium, Planomonospora, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Serratia, and Streptomyces. These PGP microbes might be utilized as biofertilizers/bioenhancers/bioprotectants/ bioinoculants as a green alternative of agrochemicals in sustainable agriculture. The use of PGPM/AMF thus constitutes a potential strategy for increasing the availability of essential nutrients and speeding up sustainable agriculture augmentation. Henceforth, PGPR can be considered as amenable, sustainable, and inexpensive tool for abiotic and biotic stress tolerance and productivity of crops/plants.KeywordsNutrient solubilizationRhizospheric microbesSiderophore productionSustainable agriculture