Sustainable Development and Biodiversity | 2021
Functional Annotation and Biotechnological Applications of Soil Microbiomes: Current Research and Future Challenges
Abstract
The tiny organism of soil, known as soil microbes have several functional annotations like nutrients cycling and their fixation, mineralization and solubilization, alleviation of biotic caused by pest-insects, microbial pathogens as well as abiotic stresses by harsh environmental conditions, degradation of polluting elements in the environment. Their functional abilities can be utilized in the different fields of biotechnology i.e. environment and agriculture because these are one the best sustainable technique over others like conventional methods as already environment is heavily polluted by the activities of mankind. In agriculture, soil microbes can be used as a biofertilizer and biopesticides. Soil microbes as biofertilizers help in providing nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron. Along with nutrients, these microbes also help in releasing plant growth regulators that help in increasing plant development. These use various mechanisms like fixation, solubilization and scavenging (of iron) for providing nutrients. Soil microbes also help in alleviating biotic stress by releasing antibiotics, siderophores and hydrogen cyanide to kill unwanted or pathogenic pest and microbes. Such microbes can also be applied in the environment for various applications like alleviation stress, pollution which cannot be degraded naturally. The present chapter deals with the functional annotation and biotechnological applications of beneficial soil microbiomes for agricultural sustainability.