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Biotechnology of the Rhizosphere

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Recent Advances in Plant Biotechnology

Abstract

This chapter deals with the management of the rhizosphere as a living system, paying special attention to one of the three partners that define the rhizosphere: beneficial microorganisms (termed PGPR or the plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacteria) that inhabit it. After that, several biotechnological approaches for management of the rhizosphere will be presented. These approaches relate to environment friendly agricultural practices, the production of high-quality foods with bioactive compounds (phytonutrients), and applications in the pharmaceutical industry.

The rhizosphere refers to the soil region that is subject to the influence of plant roots and their associated microorganisms. Among these microorganisms are plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria which are beneficial for plant health in many ways: by improving plant nutrition, protecting against other microorganisms, producing plant growth regulators, or enhancing plant secondary metabolic pathways that are directly related to a plant’s defense. In some plant species, these secondary metabolites are useful to human health.

The biotechnology of the rhizosphere covers a wide array of applications that deal with sustainable agriculture (intensive or extensive): lowering of chemical inputs due to fertilizers and pesticides; improving crop productivity in saline and non-fertile soils; improvement of plant fitness for reforestation of degraded soils; and improvement in the bioactive levels of metabolites in medicinal plant species, among others. In this connection, the identification of elicitors (molecules that stimulate any of a number of defense responses in plants) appears to be an alternative to PGPR for unraveling limiting steps of secondary metabolism pathways.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge all students that have participated in these studies that are cited in this chapter and also University San Pablo CEU, Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid, and the EU for funding this research.

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  1. Department of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, Faculty of Pharmacy, University San Pablo CEU, Boadilla del Monte, Madrid 28668, Spain

    Beatriz Ramos Solano, Jorge Barriuso Maicas & Javier Gutierrez Mañero

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  1. Beatriz Ramos Solano
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Correspondence to Beatriz Ramos Solano .

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Solano, B.R., Maicas, J.B., Mañero, J.G. (2009). Biotechnology of the Rhizosphere. In: Recent Advances in Plant Biotechnology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0194-1_8

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