Bacillus Species as Potential Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria for Drought Stress Resilience

Abstract

Several factors continuously affect agricultural output, including inappropriate mechanization, a shortage of arable land as well as a number of biotic and abiotic stresses. Drought is the main abiotic stressor that hinders sustainable agriculture since it drastically lowers crop output. A key concern now is the rising in crop output demands and the sharp decline in the use of synthetic agrochemicals. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) contribute significantly in the industry of sustainable agriculture. The usage of bacillus species as PGPR has been shown to be an ecofriendly method of enhancing agricultural yields by encouraging plant development via a directly and indirectly mechanism. Plant growth promoting bacillus strains regulates physiologic and metabolic balance, induces resistance against drought stress, and solubilizes minerals for efficient plant uptake. Even though its advantages for growing crops have been widely acknowledged and researched in lab settings, its success when applied in fields differs greatly. Water stress can be alleviated by using osmotolerant gram-positive rods bacillus strains as inoculants, can improve the plant’s ability to use water effectively. This review discusses the state of knowledge at the moment on bacillus species plant-microbiome interactions, including the molecular methods for promoting plant development, regulation and expression of drought stress related genes and the requirement for establishing the relationship.