Abstract

Global climate change impairs crop production and hampers food security and environmental sustainability. To combat climate-related environmental changes, including heat, drought, salt, and biotic stresses, it is crucial to find out eco-friendly and cost-effective strategies for sustainable crop production. The aim of the study was to redefine and screen effective use of endophytic strains to enhance stress tolerance and crop production. Although several members of Enterobacterales endophytic bacteria are typically recognized as human pathogens, the updated studies reveal that endophytes possess potential attributes that would be used in improving stress tolerance and agricultural production. An increasing number of endophytic bacteria from the Enterobacterales endophytes have been attributed with plant growth-promoting (PGP) activities, contributing to disease resistance in plants and offering potential to enhance agricultural production. Unfortunately, the potential role of Enterobacterales endophytic strains or species involved in exhibiting beneficial effects in agricultural crops is not well updated or even catalogued. Thus, we focus on the role of the Enterobacterales endophytes as plant growth promoters, biocontrol agents, and candidates for plant stress tolerance. This review further highlights experimental studies on Enterobacterales endophytes and their involvement in roots and shoots colonization of rice plants, which leads to enhanced plant improvement and grain production. The study explores the endophytic strains, including Serratia sp., Citrobacter sp., Acinetobacter sp., Klebsiella sp., Cronobacter sp., Enterobacter sp., Pantoea sp., Raoultella sp., and Kosakonia sp., which provide potential plant health benefits, show systemic resistance to pathogens during crop production. Notably, the endophytes involved in grain production can be increased up to 30% to 100% in field conditions. Therefore, these endophytes might be used as a potential biofertilizer for improving plant growth, disease resistance, and stress tolerance. Furthermore, this approach presents an eco-friendly strategy for farmers to achieve sustainable crop production and ensure food security.

Key words: Plant endophytes, Enterobacteriaceae, abiotic stress, biocontrol agents, bioremediation, sustainable agriculture.