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Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, there has been a worldwide surge of interest in studies involving plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) and their interaction with plants. This interest is based on the idea that these bacteria will eventually be used on a large scale in sustainable agricultural practice and that the successful implementation of PGPB in agriculture may eventually facilitate the partial, or even complete, replacement of the current excessive use of potentially dangerous chemicals in agriculture. However, before the use of PGPB can become even more widespread, it is necessary for scientists to develop a greater understanding of many of the fundamental biochemical, physiological and genetic mechanisms that are operative in plant–bacterial interactions so that the use of these organisms can become a standard and highly reproducible approach to agriculture. Thus, for PGPB technology to continue to develop to realize its full potential, it is imperative that fundamental research in this field continues unabated. In this Special Issue, many of the basic mechanisms used by PGPB to facilitate plant growth and development and their potential application in agriculture will be explored.

Prof. Bernard R. Glick
Guest Editor

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Keywords

plant–bacterial interactions
plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB)
biocontrol
abiotic stress
indoleacetic acid
ethylene
gibberellin
siderophores
nitrogen fixation
volatile organic compounds

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 53194 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biocontrol Potential of Purified Elicitor Protein PeBL1 Extracted from Brevibacillus laterosporus Strain A60 and Its Capacity in the Induction of Defense Process against Cucumber Aphid (Myzus persicae) in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

by Khadija Javed, Humayun Javed and Dewen Qiu

Biology 2020, 9(7), 179; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biology9070179 - 21 Jul 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2872

Abstract

The Cucumber aphid (Myzus persicae), a destructive cucumber aphid usually managed by chemical pesticides, is responsible for enormous annual agricultural losses. A protein elicitor, PeBL1, was investigated in the present work for its ability to induce a defense response against M. persicae in cucumber. The rates of population growth (Intrinsic rate of increase) of M. persicae (second and third generations) decreased with PeBL1-treated cucumber seedlings as compared to positive (water) and negative 70.58 μg mL⁻¹ controls (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0). In an assay on host selection, M. persicae had a preference for colonizing control plants as compared to the PeBL1-treated cucumber seedlings. The nymphal development time of the aphid was extended with the PeBL1-treated cucumber seedlings. Likewise, fecundity was reduced, with less offspring produced in the PeBL1-treated cucumber seedlings as compared to the positive (water) and negative 70.58 μg mL⁻¹ controls (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0). The cucumber leaves treated with PeBL1 had a hazardous surface environment for M. persicae, caused by trichomes and wax formation. Jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), and ethylene (ET) levels were significantly higher, exhibiting significant accumulation in the PeBL1-treated cucumber seedlings. The following results showed that PeBL1 considerably altered the height of the cucumber plant and the surface structure of the leaves to minimize M. persicae reproduction, and it prevented colonization. Defensive processes also included the activation of pathways (JA, SA, and ET). This study provides evidence of biocontrol for the use of PeBL1 in cucumber defense against M. persicae. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Bacterial Interaction: From Molecule to Ecosystem)

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Review

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27 pages, 1588 KiB

Open AccessReview

Saline and Arid Soils: Impact on Bacteria, Plants, and Their Interaction

by Elisa Gamalero, Elisa Bona, Valeria Todeschini and Guido Lingua

Biology 2020, 9(6), 116; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biology9060116 - 02 Jun 2020

Cited by 42 | Viewed by 6187

Abstract

Salinity and drought are the most important abiotic stresses hampering crop growth and yield. It has been estimated that arid areas cover between 41% and 45% of the total Earth area worldwide. At the same time, the world’s population is going to soon reach 9 billion and the survival of this huge amount of people is dependent on agricultural products. Plants growing in saline/arid soil shows low germination rate, short roots, reduced shoot biomass, and serious impairment of photosynthetic efficiency, thus leading to a substantial loss of crop productivity, resulting in significant economic damage. However, plants should not be considered as single entities, but as a superorganism, or a holobiont, resulting from the intimate interactions occurring between the plant and the associated microbiota. Consequently, it is very complex to define how the plant responds to stress on the basis of the interaction with its associated plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). This review provides an overview of the physiological mechanisms involved in plant survival in arid and saline soils and aims at describing the interactions occurring between plants and its bacteriome in such perturbed environments. The potential of PGPB in supporting plant survival and fitness in these environmental conditions has been discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Bacterial Interaction: From Molecule to Ecosystem)

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