Abstract
Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have great potential to provide economical and sustainable solutions to current agricultural challenges. The Methylobacteria which are frequently present in the phyllosphere can promote plant growth and development. The Methylobacterium genus is composed mostly of pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophic bacteria, utilizing organic one-carbon compounds as the sole carbon and energy source for growth. Methylobacterium spp. have been isolated from diverse environments, especially from the surface of plants, because they can oxidize and assimilate methanol released by plant leaves as a byproduct of pectin formation during cell wall synthesis. Members of the Methylobacterium genus are good candidates as PGPB due to their positive impact on plant health and growth; they provide nutrients to plants, modulate phytohormone levels, and protect plants against pathogens. In this paper, interactions between Methylobacterium spp. and plants and how the bacteria promote crop growth is reviewed. Moreover, the following examples of how to engineer microbiomes of plants using plant-growth-promoting Methylobacterium are discussed in the present review: introducing external Methylobacterium spp. to plants, introducing functional genes or clusters to resident Methylobacterium spp. of crops, and enhancing the abilities of Methylobacterium spp. to promote plant growth by random mutation, acclimation, and engineering.
Highlights
The strains of M. extorquens PA1 and M. oryzae were isolated from example, the strains of M. extorquens PA1 and M. oryzae were isolated from the phyllothe phyllosphere of Arabidopsis thaliana and rice [10,11]
The strategies conducted in recent years are reviewed below, and these strategies might help us identify novel plant growth-promoting Methylobacteria, or transfer Methylobacterium spp. or their community to plants lacking them (Figure 3)
The Methylobacterium genus possesses great potential to be utilized as a microbial agent to promote plant growth in different ways
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. How to feed the increased population is a major challenge for agriculture. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been used intensively to increase crop yields [2]. Substitutes for chemical fertilizers and pesticides are needed to increase crop yields in a sustainable way. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3941 chemical fertilizers and pesticides are needed to increase crop yields in a sustainable way. Microbial agents that promote plant growth and yield have the potential to be utilized in agriculture in the future. The Methylobacterium genus was proposed in 1976 and is negative bacteria belonging to the α-proteobacteria family.
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