Mechanisms of Fluorescent Pseudomonads That Mediate Biological Control of Phytopathogens and Plant Growth Promotion of Crop Plants

Abstract

Plant pathogens cause persistent and significant yield losses in economically important crop plants. Incessant use of chemicals to control pathogens causes health problems and environmental pollution. Biological control agents are eco friendly and, therefore, have emerged as promising alternatives. Fluorescent pseudomonads, the ubiquitous soil bacteria, form a large group of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria with plant growth-promoting and disease-suppressing attributes. They possess an array of innate beneficial traits such as successful root colonization, production of phytohormones, vitamins, lytic enzymes, antibiotics, and induction of systemic resistance in plants, thereby resulting in biological control of plant pathogens and enhancing plant growth and yield. Knowledge on the mechanisms that mediate beneficial attributes is important for the selection of potent biocontrol strains and for registration, patenting, recognition, and quality checking, which are essential not only for understanding their ecological role as biocontrol agents, but also for their biotechnological applications.