Biofortification of crops using microbes – a promising sustainable agriculture strategy

Abstract

The global threat of food security and food production for ever-increasing population are the key challenges nowadays. Enhanced agriculture production and a rise in the quality of crops are needed. Sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture approaches are required to improve crop yield and nutritional value which is decreased because of an increase in population rate, changing climate and inflation in a hidden hunger. Crop biofortification could overcome these challenges. Biofortification will indirectly target low-income households who cannot afford a more diverse diet by capitalizing on the consistent daily intake of food staples. Biofortified crops can be developed by conventional plant breeding, agronomic strategies and genetic engineering but these have not always been successful. In recent years, use of naturally occurring microorganisms in the soil, i.e. plant growth promoting microbes (PGPM) most especially bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi has been recommended as a promising approach for the biofortification of important crops. Micronutrient contents in different plant tissues such as roots, leaves and fruits can be enhanced by inoculation of soil and crops with rhizospheric and endophytic microbes. PGPM fortifies crops by a different mechanism such as siderophore production, zinc solubilization, nitrogen fixation, and phosphate solubilization. Microbial biofortification is a novel strategy because it not only the increases concentration of micronutrients in edible food crops but also improves yield on less fertile soil. In this review we are emphasizing the biofortification of crops by microbes as a sustainable and cost-effective alternation for improving Fe, Zn and Se content of crops.