Molecular Microbiology Research 2024, Vol.14, No.5, 236-247 http://microbescipublisher.com/index.php/mmr 236 Research Insight Open Access Enhancing Rice Stress Tolerance: New Insights into the Synergistic Roles of Roots and Rhizosphere Microbes Xianyu Wang1,3, QianZhu1,2,3, JuanLi 1,2,3, Hanqi Li 1, JiangQin 1, HangYu1, Dongsun Lee 1,2,3, Lijuan Chen1,2,3 1 Rice Research Institute, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China 2 The Key Laboratory for Crop Production and Smart Agriculture of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China 3 State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China Corresponding author: chenlijuan@hotmail.com Molecular Microbiology Research, 2024, Vol.14, No.5 doi: 10.5376/mmr.2024.14.0026 Received: 18 Aug., 2024 Accepted: 30 Sep., 2024 Published: 15 Oct., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Wang et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Wang et al., 2024, Enhancing rice stress tolerance: new insights into the synergistic roles of roots and rhizosphere microbes, Molecular Microbiology Research, 14(5): 236-247 (doi: 10.5376/mmr.2024.14.0026) Abstract As one of the world's major food crops, the yield and quality of rice are directly related to global food security. However, rice often faces a variety of stress factors such as drought, salinity, pests and diseases, which seriously affect the growth and yield of rice. Improving the stress resistance of rice has therefore become a key area of agricultural scientific research. In recent years, the synergistic role of root system and rhizosphere microorganisms in improving plant stress resistance has attracted extensive attention. The aim of this review is to systematically analyze the role of rice root and rhizosphere microorganisms in the process of stress resistance, and to reveal the mechanism and potential of their interactions. The contents include the morphological and physiological adaptation changes of roots, the composition and function of rhizosphere microbial communities, and the interaction mechanism between root exudates and microorganisms. Through case studies and experimental data, the synergistic effect of roots and microorganisms under drought and salinity stresses and their effects on rice stress resistance were explored. This review is expected to provide new ideas and methods for improving rice stress resistance, and provide a scientific basis for the application of microbial inoculants and genetic engineering technologies in agricultural practice in the future. Keywords Rice stress tolerance; Roots; Rhizosphere microbes; Drought stress; Salinity stress 1 Introduction As the main food crop for more than half of the world's population, the yield and quality of rice are directly related to global food security. However, its production is subject to a variety of abiotic stresses such as drought, cold, and heavy metal pollution, which not only significantly reduce the yield and quality of rice, but also may lead to the accumulation of harmful substances such as cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) in the edible part, posing a threat to human health (Ding et al., 2019). Therefore, researching and improving the stress resilience of rice is essential to ensure food security, especially in the context of climate change and increasing environmental pollution. Methods to improve rice stress resistance mainly focus on the development of rice varieties tolerant to abiotic stress and optimization of planting techniques. For example, biochemical inducers and beneficial rhizosphere bacteria have shown promising prospects in improving rice tolerance to cold and drought stresses (Kakar et al., 2016). Enhancing the uptake of silicon and calcium in rice can help improve rice resistance, enhance the resistance of rice stalks to iodine, and resist diseases and pests (Huang et al., 2012). In addition, managing the composition of the rhizosphere bacterial community can reduce the accumulation of harmful heavy metals in rice, thereby improving crop yield and safety (Huang et al., 2021). In this review, we systematically analyzed the role of rice roots and rhizosphere microorganisms in the process of stress resistance, including the morphological and physiological adaptation changes of roots under stress conditions, the composition and function of rhizosphere microbial communities, and the interaction mechanism between root exudates and microorganisms. The case study will explore the synergistic effect of roots and
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