Stimulation of plant growth and biocontrol by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum FZB42 engineered for improved action

Abstract

Abstract During the last decade, the use of plant-root colonizing bacteria with plant growth-promoting activity has been proven as an efficient and environmental-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Biofertilizer and biocontrol formulations prepared from endospore-forming Bacillus strains are increasingly applied due to their long shelf life, which is comparable with that of agrochemicals. Today, spore suspensions from natural representatives of mainly Bacillus amyloliquefaciens , Bacillus subtilis , and Bacillus pumilus are available. However, these biofertilizers, directly prepared from environmental strains, are sometimes hampered in their action and do not fulfill in each case the expectations of the appliers (Borriss R, Bacteria in agrobiology: plant growth responses, Springer, 2011, pp. 41-76). This review will focus on several ways to improve the action of B. amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum FZB42 T , the type strain for the group of plant-associated B. amyloliquefaciens strains. We are focusing here on genomics and genetic engineering techniques as helpful tools for developing more powerful biofertilizer and biocontrol agents.