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Review
. 2024 Nov 19;25(22):12424.
doi: 10.3390/ijms252212424.

Molecular Communication of Microbial Plant Biostimulants in the Rhizosphere Under Abiotic Stress Conditions

Sajid Ali  1 , Muhammad Saeed Akhtar  2 , Muhammad Siraj  3 , Wajid Zaman  4
Affiliations
Review

Molecular Communication of Microbial Plant Biostimulants in the Rhizosphere Under Abiotic Stress Conditions

Sajid Ali et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Microbial plant biostimulants offer a promising, sustainable solution for enhancing plant growth and resilience, particularly under abiotic stress conditions such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, and heavy metal toxicity. These biostimulants, including plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, enhance plant tolerance through mechanisms such as phytohormone production, nutrient solubilization, osmotic adjustment, and antioxidant enzyme activation. Advances in genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics have significantly expanded our understanding of plant-microbe molecular communication in the rhizosphere, revealing mechanisms underlying these interactions that promote stress resilience. However, challenges such as inconsistent field performance, knowledge gaps in stress-related molecular signaling, and regulatory hurdles continue to limit broader biostimulant adoption. Despite these challenges, microbial biostimulants hold significant potential for advancing agricultural sustainability, particularly amid climate change-induced stresses. Future studies and innovation, including Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and other molecular editing tools, should optimize biostimulant formulations and their application for diverse agro-ecological systems. This review aims to underscore current advances, challenges, and future directions in the field, advocating for a multidisciplinary approach to fully harness the potential of biostimulants in modern agriculture.

Keywords: CRISPR; PGPR; abiotic stress; antioxidant enzyme activity; microbial plant biostimulants; mycorrhizal fungi; phytohormone production; plant–microbe interactions; proteomics; transcriptomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mind map of rhizosphere interactions and abiotic stress effect.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Microbial influence on phytohormone signaling pathways in plants.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Flowchart of molecular signaling events in the rhizosphere.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Genomic and molecular approaches in biostimulant research.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Key challenges in the use of microbial biostimulants.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Key pathways for advancing microbial biostimulant research and applications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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