Plant, Soil and Microbes in Tropical Ecosystems

This book describes the multitude of interactions between plant, soil, and micro-organisms. It emphasizes on how growth and development in plants, starting from seed germination, is heavily influenced by the soil type. It describes the interactions established by plants with soil and inhabitant microbial community. The chapters describe how plants selectively promote certain microorganisms in the rhizospheric ecozone to derive multifarious benefits such as nutrient acquisition and protection from diseases. The diversity of these rhizospheric microbes and their interactions with plants largely depend on plant genotype, soils attributes, and several abiotic and biotic factors.

Most of the studies concerned with plant-microbe interaction are focused on temperate regions, even though the tropical ecosystems are more diverse and need more attention. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how soil type and climatic conditions influence the plant-soil-microbes interaction in the tropics. Considering the significance of the subject, the present volume is designed to cover the most relevant aspects of rhizospheric microbial interactions in tropical ecosystems.

Chapters include aspects related to the diversity of rhizospheric microbes, as well as modern tools and techniques to assess the rhizospheric microbiomes and their functional roles. The book also covers applications of rhizospheric microbes and evaluation of prospects improving agricultural practice and productivity through the use of microbiome technologies.

This book will be extremely interesting to microbiologists, plant biologists, and ecologists.

Dr. Suresh Kumar Dubey is a professor in the Molecular Ecology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, India. His interests include structure and function of the microbial community involved in controlling methane emission, screening, utilization of microbes for their potential role in bioremediation, and studies on the prevalence of some pathogenic microbes in clinical and food samples and their response to drugs. He has won multiple awards for his work, including Biotech Research Society of India Young Scientist Medal 2004, DST- BOYSCAST Govt. of India fellowship 2006, INSA visiting fellowship 2012 and 2017, and JSPS Invitation fellowship 2012, among others.

Dr. Satish Kumar Verma is an assistant professor in the Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. He received his Ph.D. in botany (plant microbes) from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. Dr. Verma also served as assistant professor in the Department of Botany, Visva-Bharti, Santiniketan, India, for about 3 years. Dr. Verma has also visited the Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, for a year. He has published 22 research papers in scientific journals of repute, including Microbial Ecology, Symbiosis, Annals of Microbiology, Applied Microbiology, Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Microbiology, Plant and Soil, and Current Science. He has also published six book chapters and edited a book on seed endophytes. His areas of research interest include the functions of plant microbiomes, diversity and ecology, and the roles of microbes in modulation of plant development and protection of hosts from biotic and abiotic stresses.