Department of Microbiology & Molecular Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 31;22(7):3611. doi: 10.3390/ijms22073611.
Soil salinity is an increasing problem facing agriculture in many parts of the world. Climate change and irrigation practices have led to decreased yields of some farmland due to increased salt levels in the soil. Plants that have tolerance to salt are thus needed to feed the world's population. One approach addressing this problem is genetic engineering to introduce genes encoding salinity, but this approach has limitations. Another fairly new approach is the isolation and development of salt-tolerant (halophilic) plant-associated bacteria. These bacteria are used as inoculants to stimulate plant growth. Several reports are now available, demonstrating how the use of halophilic inoculants enhance plant growth in salty soil. However, the mechanisms for this growth stimulation are as yet not clear. Enhanced growth in response to bacterial inoculation is expected to be associated with changes in plant gene expression. In this review, we discuss the current literature and approaches for analyzing altered plant gene expression in response to inoculation with halophilic bacteria. Additionally, challenges and limitations to current approaches are analyzed. A further understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in enhanced plant growth when inoculated with salt-tolerant bacteria will significantly improve agriculture in areas affected by saline soils.
土壤盐度是世界许多地区农业面临的一个日益严重的问题。气候变化和灌溉实践导致一些农田的产量下降，原因是土壤中的盐分增加。因此，需要具有耐盐性的植物来养活世界人口。解决这个问题的一种方法是通过基因工程引入编码耐盐性的基因，但这种方法有其局限性。另一种相当新的方法是分离和开发耐盐（嗜盐）植物相关细菌。这些细菌被用作接种剂来刺激植物生长。现在有几项报告表明，嗜盐接种剂如何增强在含盐土壤中植物的生长。然而，这种生长刺激的机制尚不清楚。预计细菌接种后的增强生长与植物基因表达的变化有关。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了目前分析植物对嗜盐细菌接种反应中基因表达变化的文献和方法。此外，还分析了当前方法的挑战和局限性。进一步了解接种耐盐细菌时增强植物生长所涉及的分子机制，将显著改善受盐渍土壤影响地区的农业。
