Potentials, Utilization, and Bioengineering of Plant Growth-Promoting Methylobacterium for Sustainable Agriculture

Cong Zhang, Meng-Ying Wang, Naeem Khan, Ling-Ling Tan and Song Yang
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Cong Zhang: School of Life Sciences, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266000, China
Meng-Ying Wang: School of Life Sciences, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266000, China
Naeem Khan: Department of Agronomy, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Ling-Ling Tan: School of Life Sciences, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266000, China
Song Yang: School of Life Sciences, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266000, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have great potential to provide economical and sustainable solutions to current agricultural challenges. The Methylobacteria which are frequently present in the phyllosphere can promote plant growth and development. The Methylobacterium genus is composed mostly of pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophic bacteria, utilizing organic one-carbon compounds as the sole carbon and energy source for growth. Methylobacterium spp. have been isolated from diverse environments, especially from the surface of plants, because they can oxidize and assimilate methanol released by plant leaves as a byproduct of pectin formation during cell wall synthesis. Members of the Methylobacterium genus are good candidates as PGPB due to their positive impact on plant health and growth; they provide nutrients to plants, modulate phytohormone levels, and protect plants against pathogens. In this paper, interactions between Methylobacterium spp. and plants and how the bacteria promote crop growth is reviewed. Moreover, the following examples of how to engineer microbiomes of plants using plant-growth-promoting Methylobacterium are discussed in the present review: introducing external Methylobacterium spp. to plants, introducing functional genes or clusters to resident Methylobacterium spp. of crops, and enhancing the abilities of Methylobacterium spp. to promote plant growth by random mutation, acclimation, and engineering.

Keywords: Methylobacterium; biofertilizer; biostimulator; biocontrol; plant growth promoting bacteria; microbiome engineering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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