Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.4
4.5
Journals
Microorganisms
Special Issues
Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture
share announcement

Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 15849

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlos Molina-Santiago

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea "La Mayora", Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
Interests: bacterial interactions; pseudomonas; T6SS; plant-microbes interactions; biotechnology; metabolomics; agriculture plant science
Prof. Dr. Diego F. Romero Hinojosa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea "La Mayora", Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Malaga, Spain
Interests: microbial biofilms; cell-to-cell communication; bacterial-host mutualism; amyloids; biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pathogenic microorganisms are known to provoke serious ecological and economical damage for agriculture, in the origin and also post-harvest, a problem that has intensified over the last few decades. The development of less environmental aggressive managing methods is therefore highly demanded to combat not only this continuous thread, but also to limit collateral damage that reduces the sustainability of agriculture.

This Special Issue aims at providing a state-of-the-art overview of the role of microbial biotechnology for the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices. We look forward to receiving contributions of interdisciplinary work in the form of original research papers, reviews, mini-reviews, and short communications. This Special Issue is intended to cover research related to biotechnological strategies for the improvement of crop fields, emphasizing the use of microbes to fight microbial plant pathogens, the improvement of plant growth, the production of secondary metabolites of potential application in agriculture, and the use of -omics technologies for the understanding of global changes occurring in specific ecological niches.

Dr. Carlos Molina-Santiago
Prof. Dr. Diego F. Romero Hinojosa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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

  • PGPR
  • biocontrol
  • sustainable agriculture
  • biotechnology
  • plant-microbe interactions
  • transcriptomics
  • metabolomics
  • microbiome

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

22 pages, 2958 KiB  
Article
Chemical Characterization and Metagenomic Identification of Endophytic Microbiome from South African Sunflower (Helianthus annus) Seeds
by Fatai Oladunni Balogun, Rukayat Abiola Abdulsalam, Abidemi Oluranti Ojo, Errol Cason and Saheed Sabiu
Microorganisms 2023, 11(4), 988; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11040988 - 10 Apr 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1985
Abstract
Helianthus annus (sunflower) is a globally important oilseed crop whose survival is threatened by various pathogenic diseases. Agrochemical products are used to eradicate these diseases; however, due to their unfriendly environmental consequences, characterizing microorganisms for exploration as biocontrol agents are considered better alternatives [...] Read more.
Helianthus annus (sunflower) is a globally important oilseed crop whose survival is threatened by various pathogenic diseases. Agrochemical products are used to eradicate these diseases; however, due to their unfriendly environmental consequences, characterizing microorganisms for exploration as biocontrol agents are considered better alternatives against the use of synthetic chemicals. The study assessed the oil contents of 20 sunflower seed cultivars using FAMEs-chromatography and characterized the endophytic fungi and bacteria microbiome using Illumina sequencing of fungi ITS 1 and bacteria 16S (V3–V4) regions of the rRNA operon. The oil contents ranged between 41–52.8%, and 23 fatty acid components (in varied amounts) were found in all the cultivars, with linoleic (53%) and oleic (28%) acids as the most abundant. Ascomycota (fungi) and Proteobacteria (bacteria) dominated the cultivars at the phyla level, while Alternaria and Bacillus at the genus level in varying abundance. AGSUN 5102 and AGSUN 5101 (AGSUN 5270 for bacteria) had the highest fungi diversity structure, which may have been contributed by the high relative abundance of linoleic acid in the fatty acid components. Dominant fungi genera such as Alternaria, Aspergillus, Aureobasidium, Alternariaste, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and bacteria including Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Lactobacillus are established, providing insight into the fungi and bacteria community structures from the seeds of South Africa sunflower. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 1396 KiB  
Article
Effect of pH and Carbon Source on Phosphate Solubilization by Bacterial Strains in Pikovskaya Medium
by Ma. Esther Sanchez-Gonzalez, Martha E. Mora-Herrera, Arnoldo Wong-Villarreal, Nadia De La Portilla-López, Laura Sanchez-Paz, Jorge Lugo, Rocio Vaca-Paulín, Pedro Del Aguila and Gustavo Yañez-Ocampo
Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11010049 - 23 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2506
Abstract
Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) transform precipitated inorganic phosphorus into soluble orthophosphates. This study evaluated the efficiency of tricalcium and iron phosphate solubilization in Pikovskaya medium using five bacterial strains (A1, A2, A3, A5, and A6) cultured in acidic and alkaline pH levels. The bacterial [...] Read more.
Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) transform precipitated inorganic phosphorus into soluble orthophosphates. This study evaluated the efficiency of tricalcium and iron phosphate solubilization in Pikovskaya medium using five bacterial strains (A1, A2, A3, A5, and A6) cultured in acidic and alkaline pH levels. The bacterial strain that proved to be more efficient for P solubilization and was tolerant to pH variations was selected for assessing bacterial growth and P solubilization with glucose and sucrose in the culture medium. The bacterial strains were identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Pseudomonas libanensis A1, Pseudomonas libanensis (A2), Bacillus pumilus (A3), Pseudomonas libanensis (A5), and Bacillus siamensis (A6). These five bacterial strains grew, tolerated pH changes, and solubilized inorganic phosphorus. The bacterial strain A3 solubilized FePO4 (4 mg L−1) and Ca3(PO4)2 (50 mg L−1). P solubilization was assayed with glucose and sucrose as carbon sources for A3 (Bacillus pumilus MN100586). After four culture days, Ca3(PO4)2 was solubilized, reaching 246 mg L−1 with sucrose in culture media. Using glucose as a carbon source, FePO4 was solubilized and reached 282 mg L−1 in six culture days. Our findings were: Pseudomonas libanensis, and Bacillus siamensis, as new bacteria, can be reported as P solubilizers with tolerance to acidic or alkaline pH levels. The bacterial strain B. pumilus grew using two sources of inorganic phosphorus and carbon, and it tolerated pH changes. For that reason, it is an ideal candidate for inorganic phosphorus solubilization and future production as a biofertilizer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 1359 KiB  
Article
The Combined Cultivation of Feruloyl Esterase-Producing Strains with CMCase and Xylanase-Producing Strains Increases the Release of Ferulic Acid
by Yao Zhang, Zhilin Jiang, Yunran Li, Zhiping Feng, Xian Zhang, Ruiping Zhou, Chao Liu and Lijuan Yang
Microorganisms 2022, 10(10), 1889; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10101889 - 22 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1367
Abstract
Feruloyl esterase (FAE)-producing micro-organisms to obtain ferulic acid (FA) from natural substrates have good industrial prospects, and the synergistic effect of multiple bacteria can better improve the yield of FA. In this study, on the premise of the synergistic effect of FAE, hemicellulose, [...] Read more.
Feruloyl esterase (FAE)-producing micro-organisms to obtain ferulic acid (FA) from natural substrates have good industrial prospects, and the synergistic effect of multiple bacteria can better improve the yield of FA. In this study, on the premise of the synergistic effect of FAE, hemicellulose, and cellulase, the key strain Klebsiella oxytoca Z28 with FAE was combined with CMCase and Xylanase-producing strains to produce FA. The combination of strains with higher FA production are Klebsiella oxytoca Z28, Klebsiella pneumoniae JZE, Bacillus velezensis G1, and their FA production can reach 109.67 μg/g, which is 15% higher than that of single bacteria. To explore the effects of temperature, Ph, inoculum amount, distillers grains concentration and fermentation time on the FAE activity of the combination of strains in the fermentation process, and determined that temperature, Ph, and fermentation time were the main influencing factors and optimized through orthogonal design. The optimized fermentation conditions are 34 °C, Ph 8.0, and fermentation days for 6 days, the FAE activity can reach 270.78 U/L, and the FA yield of the combined strain is 324.50 μg/g, which is 200% higher than that of single-strain fermentation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3172 KiB  
Article
Exploiting the Potential of Bioreactors for Creating Spatial Organization in the Soil Microbiome: A Strategy for Increasing Sustainable Agricultural Practices
by Carlos Fernando Gutiérrez, Nicolás Rodríguez-Romero, Siobhon Egan, Elaine Holmes and Janeth Sanabria
Microorganisms 2022, 10(7), 1464; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10071464 - 20 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2527
Abstract
Industrial production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and their crop application have caused considerable environmental impacts. Some eco-friendly alternatives try to solve them but raise some restrictions. We tested a novel method to produce a nitrogen bioinoculant by enriching a soil microbial community in [...] Read more.
Industrial production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and their crop application have caused considerable environmental impacts. Some eco-friendly alternatives try to solve them but raise some restrictions. We tested a novel method to produce a nitrogen bioinoculant by enriching a soil microbial community in bioreactors supplying N2 by air pumping. The biomass enriched with diazotrophic bacteria was diluted and applied to N-depleted and sterilized soil of tomato plants. We estimated microbial composition and diversity by 16S rRNA metabarcoding from soil and bioreactors at different run times and during plant uprooting. Bioreactors promoted the N-fixing microbial community and revealed a hided diversity. One hundred twenty-four (124) operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were assigned to bacteria with a greater Shannon diversity during the reactor’s steady state. A total of 753 OTUs were found in the rhizospheres with higher biodiversity when the lowest concentration of bacteria was applied. The apparent bacterial abundance in the batch and continuous bioreactors suggested a more specific functional ecological organization. We demonstrate the usefulness of bioreactors to evidence hidden diversity in the soil when it passes through bioreactors. By obtaining the same growth of inoculated plants and the control with chemical synthesis fertilizers, we evidence the potential of the methodology that we have called directed bioprospecting to grow a complex nitrogen-fixing microbial community. The simplicity of the reactor’s operation makes its application promising for developing countries with low technological progress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 3494 KiB  
Article
Development of a Real-Time Quantitative PCR Assay for the Specific Detection of Bacillus velezensis and Its Application in the Study of Colonization Ability
by Shuai Xu, Xuewen Xie, Yanxia Shi, Ali Chai, Baoju Li and Lei Li
Microorganisms 2022, 10(6), 1216; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10061216 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2108
Abstract
Bacillus velezensis is a widely used biocontrol agent closely related to B. amyloliquefaciens, and the two species cannot be distinguished by universal primers that are currently available. The study aimed to establish a rapid, specific detection approach for B. velezensis. Many [...] Read more.
Bacillus velezensis is a widely used biocontrol agent closely related to B. amyloliquefaciens, and the two species cannot be distinguished by universal primers that are currently available. The study aimed to establish a rapid, specific detection approach for B. velezensis. Many unique gene sequences of B. velezensis were selected through whole genome sequence alignment of B. velezensis strains and were used to design a series of forward and reverse primers, which were then screened by PCR and qPCR using different Bacillus samples as templates. The colonization ability of B. velezensis ZF2 in different soils and different soil environmental conditions was measured by qPCR and a 10-fold dilution plating assay. A specific primer pair targeting the sequence of the D3N19_RS13500 gene of B. velezensis ZF2 was screened and could successfully distinguish B. velezensis from B. amyloliquefaciens. A rapid specific real-time qPCR detection system for B. velezensis was established. B. velezensis ZF2 had a very strong colonization ability in desert soil, and the optimal soil pH was 7–8. Moreover, the colonization ability of strain ZF2 was significantly enhanced when organic matter from different nitrogen sources was added to the substrate. This study will provide assistance for rapid specificity detection and biocontrol application of B. velezensis strains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 841 KiB  
Review
Opposite Sides of Pantoea agglomerans and Its Associated Commercial Outlook
by Adriana Sturion Lorenzi, Maria Letícia Bonatelli, Mathias Ahii Chia, Leonardo Peressim and Maria Carolina Quecine
Microorganisms 2022, 10(10), 2072; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10102072 - 20 Oct 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4145
Abstract
Multifaceted microorganisms such as the bacterium Pantoea colonize a wide range of habitats and can exhibit both beneficial and harmful behaviors, which provide new insights into microbial ecology. In the agricultural context, several strains of Pantoea spp. can promote plant growth through direct [...] Read more.
Multifaceted microorganisms such as the bacterium Pantoea colonize a wide range of habitats and can exhibit both beneficial and harmful behaviors, which provide new insights into microbial ecology. In the agricultural context, several strains of Pantoea spp. can promote plant growth through direct or indirect mechanisms. Members of this genus contribute to plant growth mainly by increasing the supply of nitrogen, solubilizing ammonia and inorganic phosphate, and producing phytohormones (e.g., auxins). Several other studies have shown the potential of strains of Pantoea spp. to induce systemic resistance and protection against pests and pathogenic microorganisms in cultivated plants. Strains of the species Pantoea agglomerans deserve attention as a pest and phytopathogen control agent. Several of them also possess a biotechnological potential for therapeutic purposes (e.g., immunomodulators) and are implicated in human infections. Thus, the differentiation between the harmful and beneficial strains of P. agglomerans is mandatory to apply this bacterium safely as a biofertilizer or biocontroller. This review specifically evaluates the potential of the strain-associated features of P. agglomerans for bioprospecting and agricultural applications through its biological versatility as well as clarifying its potential animal and human health risks from a genomic point of view. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop