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. 2023;234(5):313.
doi: 10.1007/s11270-023-06331-7. Epub 2023 May 4.

Cyanobacteria as a Valuable Natural Resource for Improved Agriculture, Environment, and Plant Protection

Atef M Abo-Shady  1 , Mohamed El-Anwar H Osman  1 , Reda M Gaafar  1 , Gehan A Ismail  1 , Maysa M F El-Nagar  1
Affiliations

Cyanobacteria as a Valuable Natural Resource for Improved Agriculture, Environment, and Plant Protection

Atef M Abo-Shady et al. Water Air Soil Pollut. 2023.

Abstract

Taking into consideration, the challenges faced by the environment and agro-ecosystem make increased for suggestions more reliable methods to help increase food security and deal with difficult environmental problems. Environmental factors play a critical role in the growth, development, and productivity of crop plants. Unfavorable changes in these factors, such as abiotic stresses, can result in plant growth deficiencies, yield reductions, long-lasting damage, and even death of the plants. In reflection of this, cyanobacteria are now considered important microorganisms that can improve the fertility of soils and the productivity of crop plants due to their different features like photosynthesis, great biomass yield, ability to fix the atmospheric N2, capability to grow on non-arable lands, and varied water sources. Furthermore, numerous cyanobacteria consist of biologically active substances like pigments, amino acids, polysaccharides, phytohormones, and vitamins that support plant growth enhancement. Many studies have exposed the probable role of these compounds in the alleviation of abiotic stress in crop plants and have concluded with evidence of physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms that confirm that cyanobacteria can decrease the stress and induce plant growth. This review discussed the promising effects of cyanobacteria and their possible mode of action to control the growth and development of crop plants as an effective method to overcome different stresses.

Keywords: Abiotic stress; Molecular mechanisms; Phytohormones; Plants; Soils.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing InterestsThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cyanobacterial strains’ culture, harvesting, and downstream use
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cyanobacteria by year (a) and by subject area (b) appraised in the Scopus® database until 2022 (updated to February 2023)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effect of abiotic stress on crop plants
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Flow chart of the three-step pesticide detoxification system
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The mechanistic approach behind the improvement and protection of plants by using Cyanobacteria
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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