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Microbial secondary metabolites for plant growth regulation and stress management

Guest Editors

Chetan Keswani, PhD, FLS, FSPR, Southern Federal University, Russia
Estibaliz Sansinenea, PhD, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México


BMC Microbiology presents the Collection Microbial secondary metabolites for plant growth regulation and stress management, highlighting research on secondary metabolites biosynthesized by agriculturally important microorganisms and their role in mitigating biotic and abiotic stress and improving plant growth under challenging environmental conditions.

New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 2: Zero Hunger

Meet the Guest Editors

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Chetan Keswani, PhD, FLS, FSPR, Southern Federal University, Russia

Dr Keswani serves as the Group Leader at the Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia. He is honored as a Fellow of the Linnaean Society of London, UK, and was awarded the Best PhD Thesis Award by the Uttar Pradesh Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India, in 2015. His editorial contributions have garnered acclaim, including the Publons Top Peer Review Award in Agricultural Sciences (2018), the Outstanding Editor Award (2019) from Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, and the Springer-Society Award (2020) for outstanding contributions to the journal Environmental Sustainability (Springer-Nature). Moreover, he has been recognized among the World’s Top 2% Scientists for 2022, specifically in the sub-fields of Plant Biology, Botany, and Biotechnology.

Estibaliz Sansinenea, PhD, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México

Dr Sansinenea graduated in chemistry from the University of Basque Country (UPV) in Spain, specializing in molecular biology. She pursued her doctoral studies in Mexico at the Science Institute of Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, focusing on the genetic manipulation of Bacillus thuringiensis, completing her thesis in 1999. In 2012, she joined the Chemistry Faculty at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. Her current research focuses on "natural products from microorganisms", with a particular focus on Bacillus spp. She leads a group dedicated to elucidating the chemical structures of compounds isolated from these bacteria, employing a multidisciplinary approach that combines microbiology and chemistry. Dr Sansinenea has authored 70 research articles, 14 book chapters, and edited 2 books.

About the Collection

Biotic and abiotic stresses are major limiting factors for crop growth and productivity. Crops are simultaneously exposed to phytopathogens as well as several abiotic stresses, which pose a serious threat for crop production and food security, especially in the current climate change scenario. Among all the available technological tools and agricultural approaches, a promising alternative to enhance plant yield and stress resilience is the application of secondary metabolites derived from agriculturally important microorganisms (AIMs). Nonetheless, the potential of using microbial secondary metabolites remains vastly unexplored.

BMC Microbiology presents the Collection Microbial secondary metabolites for plant growth regulation and stress management to bring together research on secondary metabolites biosynthesized by rhizospheric, phyllospheric and endophytic AIMs, and their role in mitigating biotic and abiotic stress and improving plant growth under challenging environmental conditions. This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and highlights research that explores the biosynthesis and applications of microbial secondary metabolites for plant growth regulation and stress management, the genomic basis of microbial metabolic diversity, metabolomic profiling of secondary metabolites, de novo synthesis of microbial secondary metabolites, and biosafety issues. We invited researchers and experts in the field to submit research articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Applications of microbial secondary metabolites for plant growth regulation and stress management
  • Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites by agriculturally important microorganisms (AIMs)
  • De novo synthesis and engineering of microbial secondary metabolites to enhance plant growth and stress resilience
  • Metabolomic profiling of microbial secondary metabolites
  • Plant-microbe interactions and symbiotic interactions for plant growth regulation and stress management
  • The role and effects of microbial secondary metabolites in shaping the composition and function of plant microbiomes
  • Antibiosis and microbial competition, with implications for plant growth regulation and stress management
  • Role of plant microbes for systemic acquired resistance and induced systemic resistance
  • The role of plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) for plant stress resilience
  • PGPM-derived phytohormones
  • Rhizosphere engineering
  • Rhizodeposition
  • Root exudates
  • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  • Phytopathogens and pathogen effectors
  • Seed priming with microbial bioinoculants


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  1. The application of pesticides may have significant impacts on soil environment and communities. In order to understand the deep relationship between the application of chlormequat chloride (CC) and the bacteri...

    Authors: Qiujun Lin, Xianxin Wu, Chunjing Guo, Lina Li, Tianshu Peng, Xun Zou, Guang Li and Jianzhong Wang
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2025 25:129
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. The gut microbiota of insects plays a pivotal role in digesting food, supplying nutrients, and synthesizing enzymes, particularly those capable of degrading lignocellulosic biomass—a key factor in waste manage...

    Authors: Gatta Vishnu Vyasa, Ramesh Balenahalli Narasingappa, K. V. Prakash, P. Bhavani and K. R. Gagandeep
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2025 25:121
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Pear black spot is caused by Alternaria tenuissima. It is one of the diseases of concern limiting pear production worldwide. Existing cultivation methods and fungicides are not sufficient to control early blight....

    Authors: Yi-Huang Chen, Jia-Xing Zhang, Yan Min, Yang Liu, Jian-Ming Wang, Lin-Quan Bai and Xiao-Xia Luo
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2024 24:550
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Engineering the seed microenvironment with embedded bacteriophages and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) shows promise for enhancing germination, mitigating biotic and abiotic stressors, and improvin...

    Authors: Samar Mousa, Raphael Nyaruaba, Hang Yang and Hongping Wei
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2024 24:503
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Enterobacter ludwigii has been proven by numerous studies to be an effective plant growth promoter. Enterobacter ludwigii T977 was isolated from leaves of Nicotiana tabacum L. Yunyan 97 which showing high starch ...

    Authors: Liwei Hu, Qin Gao, Yuan Ji, Xiangzhou Dong, Qifa Zhu, Tingming Cheng, Limei Zhao, Mengmeng Yang, Zhen Zhai, Huaxin Dai, Taibo Liang and Chaoqun Xue
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2024 24:491
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), as a group of environmentally friendly bacteria growing in the rhizosphere of plants, play an important role in plant growth and development and resistance to envir...

    Authors: Chao Deng, Nan Zeng, Chunji Li, Jiahe Pang, Ning Zhang and Bingxue Li
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2024 24:327
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Rusted root rot is one of the most common root diseases in Panax ginseng, and Cylindrocarpon destructans is one of the main pathogenic fungus. The objective of this study was to screen and explore the extracts of...

    Authors: Shuaiqi Feng, Yuchi Zhao, Qiuyu Wang, Jiyue Zhang, Xue Liang, Zhuoyue Fu, Yanjie Li, Weiwei Dong and Wenxiu Ji
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2024 24:317
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Globally, drought stress poses a significant threat to crop productivity. Improving the drought tolerance of crops with microbial biostimulants is a sustainable strategy to meet a growing population’s demands....

    Authors: Sakthi Uma Devi Eswaran, Lalitha Sundaram, Kahkashan Perveen, Najat A. Bukhari and R. Z. Sayyed
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2024 24:165
    Content type: Research Published on: