Plant Microbe Interactions 2

The use of microbial plant protection products is growing and their importance will strongly increase due to political and public pressure. World population is growing and the amount of food needed by 2050 will be double of what is produced now whereas the area of agricultural land is decreasing. We must increase crop yield in a sustainable way. Chemical plant growth promoters must be replaced by microbiological products. Also here, the use of microbial products is growing and their importance will strongly increase. A growing area of agricultural land is salinated. Global warming will increase this process. Plants growth is inhibited by salt or even made impossible and farmers tend to disuse the most salinated lands. Microbes have been very successfully used to alleviate salt stress of plants. Chemical pollution of land can make plant growth difficult and crops grown are often polluted and not suitable for consumption. Microbes have been used to degrade these chemical pollutants.

This book puts an updated account on functional aspects of multiphasic microbial interactions within and between plants and their ecosystem. Multipronged interaction in the soil microbial communities with the plants constitute a relay of mechanisms that make profound changes in plant and its micro-environment in the rhizopshere at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. In agro-ecological perspectives, such interactions are known to recycle nutrients and regulate signalling molecules, phytohormones and other small molecules that help plant growth and development. Such aspects are described deeply in this book taking examples from various crop plants and microbial systems. Authors described the most advantageous prospects of plant-microbe interaction in terms of inoculation of beneficial microorganisms (microbial inoculants) with the plants in which microbes proliferate in the root rhizosphere system and benefit plants' with definite functions like fixation of nitrogen, solubilization and mobilization of P, K, Zn and production of phytohormones. The subject of this book and the content presented herein has great relevance to the agro-ecological sustainability of crop plants with the help of microbial interactions. The chapters presented focus on defining and assessing the impact of beneficial microbial interactions on different soils, crops and abiotic conditions. This volume entails about exploiting beneficial microbial interactions to help plants under abiotic conditions, microbe-mediated induced systemic tolerance, role of mycorrhizal interactions in improving plant tolerance against stresses, PGPR as nutrient mobilizers, phytostimulants, antagonists and biocontrol agents, plant interactions with Trichoderma and other bioagents for sustainable intensification in agriculture, cyanobacteria as PGPRs, plant microbiome for crop management and phytoremediation and rhizoremediation using microbial communities. The overall content entrust advanced knowledge and applicability of diversified biotechnological, techno-commercial and agro-ecological aspects of microbial interactions and inoculants as inputs, which upon inoculation with crop plants benefit them in multiple ways.

Plant-Microbe Interactions, Volume 2 Volume 1 of this series has made its appearance and dealt forcefully with impor tant current topics in the field of plant-microbe interactions. We believe that the quality of those chapters was high and should serve as a focal point for the state of the art as well as an enduring reference. Volume 2 builds upon these accom plishments. Chapter 1 discusses the fascinating lipo-chitin signal molecules from Rhizo bium, aspects regarding their biosynthesis, and the basis for host specificity. These molecules are a cardinal example of how microorganisms influence plant development and stimulate speculation that they have identified a previously un known aspect of plant hormone activity. Chapter 2 continues the discussion of Rhizobium by considering the trafficking of carbon and nitrogen in nodules. Al though the ostensible advantage of nodules to plants is the fixation of atmos pheric nitrogen, the actual process involved in supplying reduced nitrogen to the plant host is complex.

This book, divided into 13 chapters, explores recent discoveries in the area of molecular plant-microbe interactions. It focuses mainly on the mechanisms controlling plant disease resistance and the cross talk among the signalling pathways involved, and the strategies used by fungi and viruses to suppress these defences. Two chapters deal with the role of symbionts (such as the symbiotic actinobacteria and vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) during their interactions with plants.

Plants and microbes interact in a complex relationship that can have both harmful and beneficial impacts on both plant and microbial communities. Effectors, secreted microbial molecules that alter plant processes and facilitate colonization, are central to understanding the complicated interplay between plants and microbes. Effectors in Plant-Microbe Interactions unlocks the molecular basis of this important class of microbial molecules and describes their diverse and complex interactions with host plants. Effectors in Plant Microbe Interactions is divided into five sections that take stock of the current knowledge on effectors of plant-associated organisms. Coverage ranges from the impact of bacterial, fungal and oomycete effectors on plant immunity and high-throughput genomic analysis of effectors to the function and trafficking of these microbial molecules. The final section looks at effectors secreted by other eukaryotic microbes that are the focus of current and future research efforts. Written by leading international experts in plant-microbe interactions, Effectors in Plant Microbe Interactions, will be an essential volume for plant biologists, microbiologists, pathologists, and geneticists.

This book presents a detailed discussion on the direct interactions of plants and microorganisms in the rhizosphere environment. It includes fifteen chapters, each focusing on a specific component of plant-microbe interactions, such as the influence of plants on the root microbiome, and the downstream effects of rhizosphere microbial dynamics on carbon and nutrient fluxes in the surroundings. As such, the book helps readers gain a better understanding of diversity above the ground, and its effect on the microbiome and its functionality.

Research on the interaction between plants and microbes continues to attract increasing attention, both within the field as well as in the scientific community at large. Many of the major scientific journals have recently reviewed various aspects of the field. Several papers dealing with plant-microbe interactions have been featured on the covers of scientific publications in the past several months, and the lay press have recently presented feature articles of this field. An additional sign of the interest in this field is that the International Society of Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions has almost 500 members. This book is a collection of the papers that were given at the Sixth Inlernational Symposium on the Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions which was held in Seattle, Washington in July, 1992. Approximately 650 scientists attended and approximately 50 lectures covering the topics of Agrobacterium-plant interactions, Rhizobium-plant interactions, bacteria-plant interactions, fungal-plant interactions and new aspects of biotechnology were presented. In addition, many sessions were devoted to the plant response to the microbe. Over 400 posters were presented of which the authors of 20 were selected to give an oral presentation. These papers are included in this volume as well. The symposium also included speakers whose research interests are not directly related to plant-microbe interactions but who are at the cutting edge of research areas that impact on the theme of the symposium. These individuals kindly agreed to summarize their talks and their papers are also included.

The interactions between the plant, soil and microbes are complex in nature. Events may be antagonistic, mutualistic or synergistic, depending upon the types of microorganisms and their association with the plant and soil in question. Multi-trophic tactics can therefore be employed to nourish plants in various habitats and growth conditions. Understanding the mechanisms of these interactions is thus highly desired in order to utilize the knowledge in an ecofriendly and sustainable way. This holistic approach to crop improvement may not only resolve the upcoming food security issues, but also make the environment greener by reducing the chemical inputs. Plant, soil and microbe, Volume 1: Implications in Crop Science, along with the forthcoming Volume 2: Mechanisms and Molecular Interactions, provide detailed accounts of the exquisite and delicate balance between the three critical components of agronomy. Specifically, these two titles focus on the basis of nutrient exchange between the microorganisms and the host plants, the mechanism of disease protection and the recent molecular details emerged from studying this multi-tropic interaction. Together they aim to provide a solid foundation for the students, teachers, and researchers interested in soil microbiology, plant pathology, ecology and agronomy.