Bio-prospecting of ACC deaminase producing Rhizobacteria towards sustainable agriculture: A special emphasis on abiotic stress in plants

In agriculture, eco-friendly management practices worldwide are required to enhance food security under the changing agro-climatic environmental conditions with avoiding the use of harmful chemicals. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a group of soil microbes closely associated with roots and capable of improving plant growth. 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase producing PGPR (natural or genetically engineered) in various crop plants are considered as the foreseeable future significant environmental remediation approach to equilibrate plant ethylene levels under various abiotic stresses. The objective of the present review was to highlight the role of ACC deaminase producing rhizobacteria as potential alternatives for the management of abiotic stress in plants. Recently, PGPR has attracted the attention of many researchers for the development of biofertilizers as an eco-friendly approach. However, the selection of potential PGPR strain is a critical factor, and the plant responses to environmental conditions often vary depending upon the bacterial strain, plant genotypes, experimental sites, and season time. Extensive studies have been suggested that the use of PGPR could have emerged as a promising and compelling alternative method for the sustainability of agriculture. Hence, the present review provides an insight on the application of ACC deaminase producing rhizobacteria as an alternative towards growing abiotic stress competence in crop plants and its mechanism involved during the induction process. The review also highlights the research gap in the usage of native rhizobacteria with a potential to produce ACC deaminase as an important strategy to overcome abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants in the near future.