Functional diversity of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria: Recent progress and future prospects

Abstract

Plant root linked bacteria that live on the plant roots as ectophytes or endophytes and can directly boost plant development through augmenting nourishment absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other important minerals or changing the level of phytohormones and indirectly by diminishing the harmful impact of different phytopathogens in the form of biological control and competition for colonization sites on plants are designated as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Therefore, the application of such PGPR in the form of single or mixed bioinoculants can reduce the reliance on synthetic fertilizers without decreasing the crop productivity. Despite their potential to enhance crop productivity and improve crop protection, PGPR still have to cover a long distance to compete as effective bioinoculants. Therefore, there is urgent need to learn the functional diversity of PGPR for sustainable crop production. Keeping in view the author attempted to review the recent progress associated with functional diversity of PGPR along with their mode of action.