Impact of global climate change on beneficial plant-microbe association

Soil is considered as the hot-spot region of beneficial plant-microbe association. A wide range of soil microbial
categories like nitrogen-fixing bacteria, ecto and endo-mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting bacteria and
fungi are seemed to be associated with this beneficial plant-microbe association. The soil microbes confer increased
plant growth and productivity against the root pathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes by a wide variety
of mechanisms like phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, biological nitrogen fixation, phytohormones
production, exhibiting antifungal activity, production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), induction of systemic
resistance (ISR) etc. Beneficial soil microbes have also been engineered to interfere with the synthesis of stress
induced hormones such as ethylene that can retard the root growth in plants and to produce antibiotics and lytic
enzymes that predominantly exhibited their activity against the soil-borne root pathogens. However, a change in the
type, distribution and coverage of soil microbial populations may occur with the changing climate scenario.
Agricultural land-use systems along with proper exploitation of beneficial microbial strains are, therefore, regarded
as one of the most effective climate change resilience farming systems as it promotes the proper management of soil,
water, biodiversity and local knowledge, thereby, acting as a good alternatives for adaptation to climate change. In
the present review, an attempt has been made to critically review the possible intervention of climate change on
beneficial soil microbes associated with the plants.