Bacilli as sources of agrobiotechnology: recent advances and future directions

Abstract

The group bacilli represent the Gram-positive ubiquitous spore-forming bacteria. Their diversity, versatility and the ability of producing diverse secondary metabolites including enzymes created enormous potential for applications in agriculture, biotechnology, environment and medicine. The bacilli are considered as one of the most studied groups of bacteria providing plant growth-promotion and biocontrol of multiple diseases reflecting their vital role in enhancing plants' tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Some of the Bacillus species are available commercially as phytostimulants, biopesticides, and biofertilizers. Genetically engineered plants such as maize, cotton, brinjal with endotoxins producing genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has revolutionized agriculture. Many of these applications have been widely adopted in various fields as viable and environmentally friendly alternatives of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides. A better understanding of the biology, ecology, and mechanisms of action of the beneficial strains of bacilli are needed for the development of products to support green biotechnology in agriculture and industries. This report comprehensively reviewed the applications of bacilli in agriculture and industry and discussed their potentials for the development of new products of biotechnological implications.

Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus tropicus Strain UPM-CREST01, Isolated from the Bulk Paddy Soil at Kampung Gajah, Perak

“…Members of the genus Bacillus are thought to possess a variety of positive characteristics that benefit vegetation explicitly or implicitly via nutrient absorption or general growth enhancement via the synthesis of plant growth hormones, including resistance against infections and other abiotic stresses ( 1 ). Hence, species of the functionally diverse genus Bacillus are among the most utilized microbes throughout the agricultural biotechnology sector ( 2 ). Here, we report a draft genome sequence of Bacillus tropicus strain UPM-CREST01, which was isolated from the bulk soil of a high-yielding paddy plot in Kampung Gajah, Perak, Malaysia (4.1841°N, 100.9389°E).…”

Prospect and Challenges for Sustainable Management of Climate Change-Associated Stresses to Soil and Plant Health by Beneficial Rhizobacteria

“…Those PGPRs can produce soilfriendly antibiotics. Antibiosis is the process of suppression of various diseases such as wheat blast [59,[89][90][91], downy mildew of grapevine [92], and damping-off disease in sugar beet and spinach [8] by the bacterial metabolites. Some of these metabolites could be utilized as green pesticides for the protection of destructive plant diseases [93].…”

“…Some of these metabolites could be utilized as green pesticides for the protection of destructive plant diseases [93]. The precise modes of action of most of these bacterial antibiotics remain unknown [89,92,94].…”

Inhibition of the phytopathogenic fungi Curvularia lunata BM and Ganoderma sp. TB4 by antifungal compounds produced by Bacillus siamensis LDR grown on hanjeli (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) starch

“…One sustainable control strategy is to use bacteria as biocontrol agents (Tiwari et al 2019;Dame et al 2021), as these can replace synthetic or chemical pesticides that can cause problems in human health and pollute the earth's ecosystems (Shafi et al 2017). The use of chemicals can also threaten the survival of non-target organisms (Prapagdee et al 2008); therefore, the use of bacteria as biocontrol agents is an environmentally friendly approach for overcoming fungal infections in agricultural plantations.…”

“…produce many enzymes and bioactive compounds, including antifungal compounds. The antifungal compounds belong to cyclic lipopeptides biosurfactant compounds, such as iturin, fengycin, and surfactin (Dame et al 2021). The antifungal compounds contribute to their function as biocontrol agents (Shafi et al 2017;Dame et al 2021).…”