Molecular pathways in plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria-plant interactions: a comprehensive review.
Irfan MF, Shafique S, Shafique S, Tabassum B, Yaseen AR
Soil Health
These beneficial bacteria are already living in the soil of your garden and farm fields — understanding exactly how they work is the roadmap to replacing synthetic fertilizers and pesticides with natural, microbe-based alternatives that are cheaper, safer, and better for the environment.
Billions of tiny bacteria live in the soil right around plant roots, and they're not just passengers — they actively help plants grow bigger, absorb iron and nitrogen from soil, and fight off diseases or survive drought. Scientists have been figuring out the precise molecular signals these bacteria send and how plants receive and act on them, almost like cracking a chemical language. This review collects everything we currently know about that conversation and flags where we still have big questions left to answer.
Key Findings
PGPR boost plant performance through four experimentally characterized mechanisms: biological nitrogen fixation, production and modulation of plant growth hormones, siderophore-mediated iron capture, and triggering the plant's own systemic immune response.
Three central molecular relay systems — reactive oxygen species bursts, calcium ion fluxes, and MAP kinase signaling cascades — act as the primary hubs translating bacterial signals into plant growth and defense responses.
The immune regulator NPR1 is identified as a critical transcriptional node where PGPR-induced signals converge to activate plant defenses, though direct causal proof of many downstream effects remains an open research priority.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Soil bacteria living near plant roots — called PGPR — can dramatically improve how plants grow, absorb nutrients, and resist disease or drought. This comprehensive review maps the molecular machinery behind those benefits, identifying the key chemical signals and regulatory switches plants use to respond to these helpful microbes.
Abstract Preview
Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) enhance plant growth, nutrient uptake and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress through diverse microbial traits and plant-associated responses. At the ...
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