Rhizobacteria mediated induced systemic tolerance in plants: Prospects for abiotic stress management

Abstract

The role of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in promotion of plant growth as well as in reducing biotic stress has been well documented. The bacterial determinants of induced systemic resistance (ISR) as well as its activation pathways in plants have been significantly evaluated during the past decade. However, the role of PGPRs in induced systemic tolerance (IST) to abiotic stresses has only been revealed very recently. Some bacterial determinants were identified for triggering IST in the host as well as some of the genes involved during the process. In certain cases, the ISR and the IST-mediating pathways were shown to be common whereas in some others they were quite different. The overall impact of microbe-mediated elicitation responses in plants, whether at the biochemical, the molecular, or the physical level may lead to protection against biotic and abiotic stresses and, in a cumulative manner, constitutes the basis of ecofriendly stress-management strategy. In the current chapter, we provide a brief overview of PGPR-mediated stress-tolerance responses in plants and the molecular and the cellular mechanisms responsible to alleviate stresses.