Plant-Microbe Interaction: Prospects and Applications in Sustainable Environmental Management

Abstract

Plant-microbe interaction is mostly mutualistic although sometimes it can be negative. These interactions contribute to improving the environmental quality and health of all organisms. One significant aspect to this is application in sustainable environmental management. Plants are known to be involved in remediation of polluted environments through a mechanism known as phytoremediation and this process is usually more effective in collaboration with microorganism resident within the plant environment. These plants and microbes possess attributes that makes them great candidates for sustainable remediation of impacted environments. Different organic pollutants have been decontaminated from the environment using the phytoremediation approach. The plant-associated microbes possess certain traits that exert selective effect on the growth of plants which consequently perform the decontamination process through different mechanisms. Also, these microorganisms’ harbour requisite genes charged with the responsibility of mineralization of different organic and inorganic compounds through several pathways to produce innocuous by-products. The limitations associated with this approach that prevents full-scale application such as contaminant-induced stress frequently leads to low/slow rates of seed germination, plant development and decreases in plant biomass have been solved by using plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. Phytoremediation is an emerging, cost-effective, eco-friendly and operational technology for the cleanup of polluted environment.