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Applied Sciences
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Plant–Microorganism Interactions in Response to Salinized Soils
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Plant–Microorganism Interactions in Response to Salinized Soils

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 12046

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Stefano Castiglione

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Interests: phytoremediation; bioremediation; plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB); molecular population genetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Francesco Guarino

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Interests: biomonitoring; phytoremediation; biodiversity; environmental pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mattia Terzaghi

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via G. Paolo II n° 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Interests: plant roots; plant–soil interaction; environmental and applied botany; plant biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The salinization of cultivable soils is one major issue that humankind will have soon to face. It has been estimated that around 20% of lands around the world are cultivable, and over 30% of them are currently affected by salinization. Moreover, it has been calculated by economists and agronomists that, each year, about 10% of arable soils increase in salt content due to, for instance, irrigation with salted water and incorrect agricultural practices, such as the abundant employment of mineral fertilizers. Consequently, it is conceivable that, in the next thirty years, more than 50% of the soils will be severely affected by high salt, causing a reduction in crops’ yields and palatability. Moreover, increases in temperature, due to climate change, will exacerbate the problem. In this perspective, during the last decade, researchers have focused their studies on the microbiomes of several organisms as well as those of plants. In fact, it has been recognized that a relevant role in maintaining and improving plant health is played by microorganisms of the rhizosphere, a thin layer of soil of 1–2 mm surrounding the fine roots of the plants. Next-generation sequencing (NGS), able to sequence the whole genomes of every kind of living being, has revealed an unknown world of microorganisms that inhabit the rhizosphere, and many of them even function as plant-growth promoters (PGP microorganisms), reducing biotic or abiotic stress such as that caused by soil salinization. The tolerance of certain microorganism strains to high salt and their ability to improve the plant’s health have been demonstrated by some studies. The combination of these salt-tolerant PGP microorganisms with halo-tolerant crops (e.g., quinoa) could provide incomes to the farmers of these salinized soils, who are usually very poor, but also serve to mitigate this serious problem through a phytoremediation process.

For the above-mentioned reasons, we are proposing the collection of scientific publications that can shed light on the most relevant mechanisms that regulate plant interactions at different levels in the case of salinized and arid cultivable soils: omics (epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, ionomics, etc.), rhizospheric (morpho-anatomical root responses and microorganism interactions), and microbiologic (selection, isolation, genetic and metabolic characterization, metagenomics, etc.) studies.

Prof. Dr. Stefano Castiglione
Dr. Francesco Guarino
Dr. Mattia Terzaghi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soil salinization
  • bio-phytoremediation
  • constructed wetlands
  • halophyte plants
  • PGPB
  • salt-tolerant microorganisms
  • microbiome
  • genomics
  • rhizosphere
  • microbiology

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 9703 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Potential of Four Novel Halotolerant Bacterial Strains as Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) under Saline Conditions
by Gianmaria Oliva, Luca Di Stasio, Giovanni Vigliotta, Francesco Guarino, Angela Cicatelli and Stefano Castiglione
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(7), 4320; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13074320 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1592
Abstract
Soil salinity, due to natural phenomena or human activities, alters the water potential, which in turn affects plant growth, negatively influencing their nutrient and water uptake. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be used to counteract these negative effects, especially in glycophytes. The aim of [...] Read more.
Soil salinity, due to natural phenomena or human activities, alters the water potential, which in turn affects plant growth, negatively influencing their nutrient and water uptake. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be used to counteract these negative effects, especially in glycophytes. The aim of our study was to characterize physiologically, genetically, and biochemically the novel halotolerant/halophilic bacteria isolated in our previous work. We evaluated the plant-growth-promoting (PGP) features and NaCl regulation’s roles in them. In this regard, analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences confirmed that our isolates are distinct bacterial strains, probably belonging to new species, which we named Bacillus sp. M21 and M23 and Halomonas sp. QH23 and QH24. In literature, it is known that many species of Halomonas and Bacillus genera produce factors regulating plant development, such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), ammonium, and siderophores; and their efficiency in promoting plant growth and productivity was also demonstrated in vivo. We demonstrated that the newly isolated strains exhibit different PGP activities, highlighting how the latter are regulated by NaCl and in a strain-dependent manner. In particular, the main results showed that NaCl negatively affects the production of IAA in QH23, M21 and M23, whereas it promotes it in QH24, where it is strictly salt-dependent. Both Halomonas strains produce ammonium only in the presence of NaCl, directly correlated to its concentration. The opposite occurs in Bacillus strains, where salt reduces its production up to ten times. Overall, the results underline how halotolerance is a preferable, but not sufficient, condition for considering a PGPR potentially useful in applications aimed at improving the tolerance and productivity of crops in saline soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Microorganism Interactions in Response to Salinized Soils)
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18 pages, 3564 KiB  
Article
Uncovering Bacterial Diversity during Mesophilic and Thermophilic Phases of Biowaste Composting through Next-Generation Sequencing
by Vasilka Chopkova, Mariana Petkova and Stefan Shilev
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(5), 3111; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13053111 - 28 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1412
Abstract
The accumulation of biowastes is one of the main concerns of modern society. One of the most environmentally friendly solutions to convert biowaste into a product is composting. Biowastes may contain unknown substances that are persistent in the final compost, thus contributing to [...] Read more.
The accumulation of biowastes is one of the main concerns of modern society. One of the most environmentally friendly solutions to convert biowaste into a product is composting. Biowastes may contain unknown substances that are persistent in the final compost, thus contributing to soil contamination and salinization. The effectiveness of the composting process depends on the microbial communities involved, which is the number of investigations’ targets. The present work studied the bacterial diversity of mesophilic and thermophilic phases of composting developed in two different sites. The study was conducted through next-generation Illumina HiSeq sequencing and phylogenetic communities, revealing the dynamics and changes in specific mesophilic and thermophilic habitats of composting piles. The results showed a higher number of bacterial species in the mesophilic phase than in the thermophilic one, proved by the Shannon and Chao indices. In addition, the diversity of bacterial species expressed by the operational taxonomic units was much higher at the site of Harmanli than at the Yasno pole. Higher abundance was found of the genera Sphingobacterium, Sphingomonas, Paracoccus, Pseudomonas, and Halomonas in both studied sites. In the compost of Harmanli genera Streptomyces, Truepera, and Flavobacterium were found to be much more abundant compared to the compost of the Yasno pole. Finally, we conclude that the two plots show relatively significant differences in the diversity of bacteria during biowaste composting. Substantial differences were also observed between the mesophilic and thermophilic phases, with the first showing a significantly higher degree of species richness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Microorganism Interactions in Response to Salinized Soils)
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17 pages, 3350 KiB  
Article
PGPB Improve Photosynthetic Activity and Tolerance to Oxidative Stress in Brassica napus Grown on Salinized Soils
by Massimiliano Rossi, Ilaria Borromeo, Concetta Capo, Bernard R. Glick, Maddalena Del Gallo, Fabrizio Pietrini and Cinzia Forni
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(23), 11442; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112311442 - 02 Dec 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 1886
Abstract
Soil salinization, one of the most common causes of soil degradation, negatively affects plant growth, reproduction, and yield in plants. Saline conditions elicit some physiological changes to cope with the imposed osmotic and oxidative stresses. Inoculation of plants with some bacterial species that [...] Read more.
Soil salinization, one of the most common causes of soil degradation, negatively affects plant growth, reproduction, and yield in plants. Saline conditions elicit some physiological changes to cope with the imposed osmotic and oxidative stresses. Inoculation of plants with some bacterial species that stimulate their growth, i.e., plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), may help plants to counteract saline stress, thus improving the plant’s fitness. This manuscript reports the effects of the inoculation of a salt-sensitive cultivar of Brassica napus (canola) with five different PGPB species (separately), i.e., Azospirillum brasilense, Arthrobacter globiformis, Burkholderia ambifaria, Herbaspirillum seropedicae, and Pseudomonas sp. on plant salt stress physiological responses. The seeds were sown in saline soil (8 dS/m) and inoculated with bacterial suspensions. Seedlings were grown to the phenological stage of rosetta, when morphological and physiological features were determined. In the presence of the above-mentioned PGPB, salt exposed canola plants grew better than non-inoculated controls. The water loss was reduced in inoculated plants under saline conditions, due to a low level of membrane damage and the enhanced synthesis of the osmolyte proline, the latter depending on the bacterial strain inoculated. The reduction in membrane damage was also due to the increased antioxidant activity (i.e., higher amount of phenolic compounds, enhanced superoxide dismutase, and ascorbate peroxidase activities) in salt-stressed and inoculated Brassica napus. Furthermore, the salt-stressed and inoculated plants did not show detrimental effects to their photosynthetic apparatus, i.e., higher efficiency of PSII and low energy dissipation by heat for photosynthesis were detected. The improvement of the response to salt stress provided by PGPB paves the way to further use of PGPB as inoculants of plants grown in saline soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Microorganism Interactions in Response to Salinized Soils)
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Review

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16 pages, 1055 KiB  
Review
Recent Trends in Microbial Approaches for Soil Desalination
by Slimane Mokrani, El-hafid Nabti and Cristina Cruz
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(7), 3586; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12073586 - 01 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3114
Abstract
Soil salinization has become a major problem for agriculture worldwide, especially because this phenomenon is continuously expanding in different regions of the world. Salinity is a complex mechanism, and in the soil ecosystem, it affects both microorganisms and plants, some of which have [...] Read more.
Soil salinization has become a major problem for agriculture worldwide, especially because this phenomenon is continuously expanding in different regions of the world. Salinity is a complex mechanism, and in the soil ecosystem, it affects both microorganisms and plants, some of which have developed efficient strategies to alleviate salt stress conditions. Currently, various methods can be used to reduce the negative effects of this problem. However, the use of biological methods, such as plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), phytoremediation, and amendment, seems to be very advantageous and promising as a remedy for sustainable and ecological agriculture. Other approaches aim to combine different techniques, as well as the utilization of genetic engineering methods. These techniques alone or combined can effectively contribute to the development of sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Microorganism Interactions in Response to Salinized Soils)
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14 pages, 4804 KiB  
Review
Salt Stress Tolerance-Promoting Proteins and Metabolites under Plant-Bacteria-Salt Stress Tripartite Interactions
by Ramasamy Krishnamoorthy, Aritra Roy Choudhury, Denver I. Walitang, Rangasamy Anandham, Murugaiyan Senthilkumar and Tongmin Sa
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(6), 3126; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12063126 - 18 Mar 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3137
Abstract
The rapid increase in soil salinization has impacted agricultural output and poses a threat to food security. There is an urgent need to focus on improving soil fertility and agricultural yield, both of which are severely influenced by abiotic variables such as soil [...] Read more.
The rapid increase in soil salinization has impacted agricultural output and poses a threat to food security. There is an urgent need to focus on improving soil fertility and agricultural yield, both of which are severely influenced by abiotic variables such as soil salinity and sodicity. Abiotic forces have rendered one-third of the overall land unproductive. Microbes are the primary answer to the majority of agricultural production’s above- and below-ground problems. In stressful conditions, proper communication between plants and beneficial microbes is critical for avoiding plant cell damage. Many chemical substances such as proteins and metabolites synthesized by bacteria and plants mediate communication and stress reduction. Metabolites such as amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and lipids as well as proteins such as aquaporins and antioxidant enzymes play important roles in plant stress tolerance. Plant beneficial bacteria have an important role in stress reduction through protein and metabolite synthesis under salt stress. Proper genomic, proteomic and metabolomics characterization of proteins and metabolites’ roles in salt stress mitigation aids scientists in discovering a profitable avenue for increasing crop output. This review critically examines recent findings on proteins and metabolites produced during plant-bacteria interaction essential for the development of plant salt stress tolerance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Microorganism Interactions in Response to Salinized Soils)
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