An Outline of Plant–Microbe Interactions for Stress Management

Climate change and environmental stresses, including both biotic and abiotic stress, directly influence plant growth imparting losses in crop yield and productivity worldwide. Plants develop intricate physiological and molecular responses to these unfavorable environments to improve their tolerance, adaptability, and survival. These days, many agronomists and researchers support a variety of strategies, such as conventional breeding and transgenic technology, for the development of stress-resistant varieties. The use of plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPM) as an alternative technology to increase crop resistance to stress is becoming more popular. Also, the use of PGPM to mitigate environmental changes is becoming increasingly important given the current climate condition and overuse of fertilizers in agricultural soils. The use of these beneficial microorganisms is considered one of the most promising methods for safe crop management practices. In the presence of these beneficial microbes, several events at the molecular and cellular levels take place from the perception of environmental stimuli to metabolic changes for better adaption in plants. Thus, this chapter takes into account our current state of knowledge about plant stress management in the presence of PGPM under various adverse environmental conditions and also considers the mechanism involved behind the plant–PGPM interaction and its application for sustainable agriculture.