Soil contains enzymes, constantly interacting with soil constituents, e.g. minerals, rhizosphere and numerous nutrients. Enzymes, in turn, catalyse important biochemical reactions for rhizobacteria and plants, stabilize the soil by degrading wastes and mediate nutrient recycling.The available enzymes inside soil could originate from plants, animals or microbes. The enzymes that are produced from these organism could exhibit intracellular activities, at the cell membrane, interacting therefore with soil and its constituents, or extracellularly (so freely available). Therefore, vis-à-vis to plant nutrition, the (extra or sub) cellular localization has a key role. Typical major enzymes available in soil can be listed as dehydrogenases, hydrogenases, oxidases, catalases, peroxidases, phenol o-hydroxylase, dextransucrase, aminotransferase, rhodanese, carboxylesterase, lipase, phosphatase, nuclease, phytase, arylsulphatase, amylase, cellulase, inulase, xylanase, dextranase, levanase, poly-galacturonase, glucosidase, galactosidase, invertase, peptidase, asparaginase, glutaminase, amidase, urease, aspartate decarboxylase, glutamate decarboxylase and aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. An interesting strategy for improving the nutritional quality of the soil would be to inoculate microorganism to soil while giving attention to mineral or other compounds that affect enzyme activity in soil. Since, some elements or compounds could show both activation and inhibitory effect, such as Fe, Na, etc. metals, the regulation of their bioavailability is crucial.
Part of the book: Enzyme Inhibitors and Activators
Free-living plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have favourable effect on plant growth, tolerance against stresses and are considered as a promising alternative to inorganic fertilizer for promoting plant growth, yield and quality. PGPR colonize at the plant root, increase germination rates, promote root growth, yield, leaf area, chlorophyll content, nitrogen content, protein content, tolerance to drought, shoot and root weight, and delayed leaf senescence. Several important bacterial characteristics, such as biological nitrogen fixation, solubilization of inorganic phosphate and mineralization of organic phosphate, nutrient uptake, 1-aminocydopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity and production of siderophores and phytohormones, can be assessed as plant growth promotion traits. By efficient use, PGPR is expected to contribute to agronomic efficiency, chiefly by decreasing costs and environmental pollution, by eliminating harmful chemicals. This review discusses various bacteria acting as PGPR, their genetic diversity, screening strategies, working principles, applications for wheat and future aspects in terms of efficiency, mechanisms and the desirable properties. The elucidation of the diverse mechanisms will enable microorganisms developing agriculture further.
Part of the book: Wheat Improvement, Management and Utilization