Microbial-mediated Induced Systemic Resistance in Plants [Hardcover]

With a focus on food safety, this book highlights theimportance of microbes in sustainable agriculture. Plants, sessile organisms that are consideredas primary producers inthe ecosystem and communicate with above- and below-ground communities thatconsist of microbes, insects, and other vertebrate and invertebrate animals, are subjected to various kinds ofstress. Broadly speaking, these can be subdivided into abiotic and bioticstresses. Plants have evolved to develop elaborate mechanisms for coping with and adapting tothe environmental stresses.

Amongother stresses, habitat-imposed biotic stress is one serious condition causingmajor problems for cropproductivity. Most plants employplant-growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) to combat and protect themselves from stresses and alsofor better growth.

PGPMsare bacteria associated with plant roots and they augment plant productivityand immunity. They arealso defined as root-colonizing bacteria that have beneficial effects on plant growth and development. Remarkably, PGPMs includingmycorrhizae, rhizobia, and rhizobacteria (Acinetobacter, Agrobacterium,Arthrobacter, Azospirillum, Bacillus, Bradyrhizobium, Frankia, Pseudomonas,Rhizobium, Serratia, Thiobacillus) form associations with plant roots andcan promote plant growth by increasing plants access to soil minerals and protecting them against pathogens.

To combat the pathogens causing different diseases and other biotic stresses, PGPMs produce a higher level ofresistance in addition to plantsindigenous immune systems in the form of induced systemic resistance (ISR).

The ISR elicitedby PGPMs has suppressed plant diseases caused by a range of pathogens in boththe greenhouse and field. Assuch, the role of these microbes can no longer be ignored forsustainable agriculture.

Today,PGPMs are also utilized in the form of bl3%