Plant-Growth Promoting Endophytic Bacteria and Their Role for Maize Acclimatation to Abiotic Stress

Abstract

In order to grow, reproduce, and defend themselves, maize plants use various strategies to obtain adaptive advantages in varying conditions, for example, to tolerate abiotic stress (e.g., drought or heat due to climate change). One of these strategies is the establishment of interactions with plant-growth-promoting bacteria. Bacteria can be associated with plants in the rhizosphere, rhizoplane, or as endophytes. Recent evidence suggest that modern agricultural practices are detrimental to these beneficial plant-microbe interactions, and reservoirs like traditional agroecosystems called milpas, emerge as sources of microbiota associated with maize crops, with increased diversity and beneficial functions. Particularly, bacterial endophytes associated with native maize from milpas show promising features for their use as plant-growth-promoting inoculates, however, it is necessary to first understand the mechanisms known for beneficial functions of endophytes associated with maize and other plants. Here, we review the mechanisms of beneficial interactions between plants and endophytic bacteria, with emphasis on maize and with mentions of recent findings on maize landraces from milpa systems.