With a focus on food safety, this book highlights the importance of microbes in sustainable agriculture. Plants, sessile organisms that are considered as primary producers in the ecosystem and communicate with above- and below-ground communities that consist of microbes, insects, and other vertebrate and invertebrate animals, are subjected to various kinds of stress. Broadly speaking, these can be subdivided into abiotic and biotic stresses. Plants have evolved to develop elaborate mechanisms for coping with and adapting to the environmental stresses.
Among other stresses, habitat-imposed biotic stress is one serious condition causing major problems for crop productivity. Most plants employ plant-growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) to combat and protect themselves from stresses and also for better growth.
PGPMs are bacteria associated with plant roots and they augment plant productivity and immunity. They are also defined as root-colonizing bacteria that havebeneficial effects on plant growth and development. Remarkably, PGPMs including mycorrhizae, rhizobia, and rhizobacteria (Acinetobacter, Agrobacterium, Arthrobacter, Azospirillum, Bacillus, Bradyrhizobium, Frankia, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Serratia, Thiobacillus) form associations with plant roots and can promote plant growth by increasing plants’ access to soil minerals and protecting them against pathogens.
To combat the pathogens causing different diseases and other biotic stresses, PGPMs produce a higher level of resistance in addition to plants’ indigenous immune systems in the form of induced systemic resistance (ISR).
The ISR elicited by PGPMs has suppressed plant diseases caused by a range of pathogens in both the greenhouse and field. As such, the role of these microbes can no longer be ignored for sustainable agriculture.
Today, PGPMs are also utilized in the form of bio-fertilizers to increase plant productivity. However, the use of PGPMs requires a precise understanding of the interactions between plants and microbes, between microbes and microbiota, and how biotic factors influence these relationships. Consequently, continued research is needed to develop new approaches to boost the efficiency of PGPMs and to understand the ecological, genetic and biochemical relationships in their habitat.
The book focuses on recent research concerning interactions between PGPMs and plants under biotic stress. It addresses key concerns such as –
1. The response of benign microbes that benefit plants under biotic stress
2. The physiological changes incurred in plants under harsh conditions
3. The role of microbial determinants in promoting plant growth under biotic stress
The book focuses on a range of aspects related to PGPMs such as their mode of action, priming of plant defence and plant growth in disease challenged crops, multifunctional bio-fertilizers, PGPM-mediated disease suppression, andthe effect of PGPMs on secondary metabolites etc.
The book will be a valuable asset to researchers and professionals working in the area of microbial-mediated support of plants under biotic stress.
Dr. Devendra K. Choudhary
Dr. Choudhary has over fourteen years of experience in Microbial Ecology and is currently working as an Assistant Professor-Grade III at Amity University, Noida. Before joining Amity University, Dr. Choudhary spent several years at Mody University, Lakshmangarh, as an Assistant Professor, preceded by work at Peoples and Barkatullah University, Bhopal as a Lecturer cum scientist.
Dr. Choudhary received his PhD in Microbiology in 2005 from GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, after having received his MSc in Microbiology from MDS University, Ajmer and qualifying CSIR-UGC-NET in 2002.
Dr. Choudhary has worked on GOI sponsored major projects as Principle Investigator (PI). Recently he worked on the DST FAST-TRACK project at the Department of Biotechnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, along with two major projects by DBT and SERB, at Amity University until the year 2015.
As an active researcher, Dr Choudhary has published research and review articles along with several book chapters for reputed journals and edited books. In addition, he has served as PhD supervisor/co-supervisor for several research scholars. Dr Choudhary is a recipient of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) visiting and summer research fellowship 2014.
Further, one of his PhD students received the 2013 Dr RS Rana Memorial best research award, sponsored by the Association of Microbiologists of India. Under supervision of Dr Choudhary his scientific team has assigned two accession numbers from MTCC, IMTECH for submitted bacterial cultures (MTCC, 12057 & 12058) along with one MCC no 2607. Most recently, his team has filed three patents with the India Patent Office, New Delhi and others are in progress.
Prof. Dr. Ajit Varma
Dr. Varma completed his M.Sc. (1959) & Ph.D. (1964) degrees at Allahabad University, Allahabad, India. In the course of his professional career, he has also served as a Microbiologist (Assistant Professor), IARI, New Delhi (1963-1971), Senior Microbiologist (Associate Professor), IARI, New Delhi (1971-1974), Associate Professor, JNU, New Delhi (1975-1984), and Professor, JNU, New Delhi (1985-2004). He has been a visiting professor & visiting research scientist at the Technical University, Graz (Austria), University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen (Germany), Friedrich Schiller University, Jena (Germany), Philipps University, Marburg (Germany), Technical University, Munich (Germany), Kingston (Jamaica), Max Planck Visiting Professorship (Germany), Helmholtz Zentrum, Muenchen (Germany), Gutenberg University, Mainz (Germany), CSIC, Madrid (Spain), University of Dundee (Scotland), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and ICGEB (Italy).
His international awards/fellowships include the Commonwealth Fellowship (Australia), National Research Council (Canada), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), National Science Foundation (USA), Indo-Czechoslovakia Exchange Programme (Prague), DAAD Fellowship (Germany), and the Deutsches BMFT Programme, George-August University, Gottingen (Germany), RAISA.
He was awarded a fellowship for Innovative Research in Biotechnology (Italy), Swiss Federal Research Fellowship (Switzerland), the BP Koirala award (Nepal) and DFG-INSA Fellowship (Indo- Germany), as well as the FAMI Award - Association of Microbiologists of India and Honorary Diploma, UMF, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Dr. Varma has supervised 60 PhD students. He has published over 290 research articles for national and international journals of repute, as well as several major review articles and chapters in books. He has published 50 books in the area of Microbial Technology, published by Academic Press, London, CRC Press, Florida, USA, IDRC, Canada and Springer-Verlag, Germany.
Dr. Varma has been the series editor for Springer-Verlag’s Series on Soil Biology, and has edited fifty volumes on Soil Biology. He was also nominated as Editor-in-Chief by IK Internationals to make series of books on Microbial and Biotechnological Research.
Dr. Varma has been a member of the National Academy of Agriculture Sciences, International Society of Symbiosis, Boston, USA, Indian Science Congress Association, Executive Council, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, University Research Council, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Academic Council, Amity University Rajasthan, ASSOCHAM Knowledge Millennium Council, ASSOCHAM Expert Committee on Agriculture and Food Processing, and ASSOCHAM Expert Committee on S&T and Innovation. He has vast experience in organizing national and international training workshops/symposia and congresses.
