Advances in Plant Microbiome and Sustainable Agriculture : Diversity and Biotechnological Applications

Abstract

Agricultural production is exaggerated by the adverse environmental conditions. The changing temperature, precipitation patterns, and carbon dioxide concentration result in reduced crop productivity. Plant microbe interactions are also influenced by change in environmental conditions. Under biotic and abiotic stress conditions, ethylene is synthesized from 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) in plants. The production of ethylene retards growth and causes plant senescence. However, rhizospheric microorganisms can produce ACC-deaminase which has the ability to breakdown ACC into ammonia (NH3) and α-ketobutyrate (C4H6O3). Thus, ACC-deaminase-producing, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) promotes stress resistance in plants. Expression of ACC-deaminase gene (AcdS) in plants can be an alternative approach to mitigate stress. The transgenic plants with AcdS gene have been developed and tested against diverse environmental stresses. This chapter provides an overview on microbial ACC-deaminases, their biochemistry and genetics, and their prospective under diverse environmental stress conditions. The role of ACC-deaminase in overcoming stress tolerance to flooding, drought, heavy metals, salinity, etc. has been discussed. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020.