Harnessing the Bacterial Rhizobiome in the Green Technologies of Biofertilisation and Phytoremediation Towards Environmental Sustainability

Population explosion and industrialization threaten environmental sustainability today, as chemical fertilisers, organic pollutants, heavy metals, etc. contaminate and exert deleterious effects on the biosphere. Green technologies, including biofertilisation and phytoremediation, can mitigate those problems and promote sustainability. The rhizobiome harbours a complex array of microorganisms, including bacteria (the bacterial rhizobiome/rhizobacteriome); and can be utilized in those green technologies to substitute for synthetic fertilisers/physicochemical remediation approaches. The rhizobacteriome also aid plants growth and degradation/bioremoval of contaminants. This chapter overviewed the urgency for those green technologies globally, and detailed the key players in the rhizobacteriome involved in biofertilisation; the mechanisms employed; plant-microbiome interactions and signalling mechanisms; the application of genetic engineering and microbiome manipulation techniques for enhanced biofertilisation; and the critical roles played by the rhizobacteriome in facilitating plant growth; degradation of organic pollutants and heavy metals bioremoval. Recent case studies of successful applications of the rhizobacteriome in biofertilisation and phytoremediation were successfully reviewed as well. The chapter concludes by highlighting major challenges preventing the widespread and successful use of these green technologies, and proffering solutions to them; before giving a panoramic sweep of the future prospects in these research fields by offering recommendations for further researches.