Burkholderia species associated with legumes of Chiapas, Mexico, exhibit stress tolerance and growth in aromatic compounds

The potential of Paraburkholderia species to enhance crop growth

Agrochemicals are the primary alternative for maintaining the high yields necessary to produce sufficient plant-based foods to supply the world population. In recent decades, one of the most extensively explored alternatives to replace agrochemicals and reduce their environmental impact has been the use of microorganism-based products to boost crop yields with less environmental impact. This review focuses on the results of studies that have demonstrated the potential of the genus Paraburkholderia to increase crop yields and be utilized in biofertilizers and biocontrol products. A literature search was performed electronically considering articles and books published until August 19, 2024. We identified 24 species of Paraburkholderia with the ability to improve crop yields after their inoculation by different methods on seeds, seedlings, plantlets, adult crops, or fruits. The effects of these bacteria have been tested under laboratory, greenhouse, or field conditions. These Paraburkholderia species mediate their positive impact on crop growth by direct and indirect plant growth-promoting mechanisms, which include improving nutrient uptake, stimulating growth by phytohormone production, regulation and stimulation of metabolic pathways, induction of abiotic stress tolerance, and disease control by direct pathogen inhibition or induction of systemic resistance in plants. The literature reviewed here supports the use of Paraburkholderia in bio-inputs under the actual panorama of climate change and the necessity to increase sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Exploring plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria as stress alleviators: a methodological insight

Rhizospheric and root-endophyte bacteria can stimulate plant growth through diverse biochemical mechanisms and pathways, particularly under biotic and abiotic stresses. For this reason, biotechnological trends on plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) application as biofertilizers, bioremediators, and stress alleviators are gaining increasing interest as ecofriendly strategies for sustainable agriculture management and soil restoration. The first steps needed to implement these technologies are isolation, screening, and characterization of PGPR that can be potentially applied as bioinoculants to alleviate biotic and/or abiotic stresses. Therefore, a complete and accurate methodological study and laboratory techniques are required to warrant the correct achievement of these steps. This review compiles and details the fundamentals, methods, and procedures of key protocols used in isolation and characterization of PGPR for plant stress alleviation.