TYPE Editorial

PUBLISHED 09 August 2022

DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2022.993075

Editorial: Optimizing probiotic

OPEN ACCESS applications in agriculture:
Exploring the role of growth and
EDITED AND REVIEWED BY
Trevor Carlos Charles,
University of Waterloo, Canada

*CORRESPONDENCE
Francesco Pini
health promoter’s
[email protected]

SPECIALTY SECTION
microorganisms in plants and
This article was submitted to
Microbe and Virus Interactions with
Plants,
livestock animals
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Microbiology

RECEIVED 13 July 2022

Alice Checcucci1 , Diana Luise1 and Francesco Pini2*
ACCEPTED 27 July 2022 1
Department of Agricultural and Food Science, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, 2 Department
PUBLISHED 09 August 2022
of Biology, University of Bari-Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
CITATION
Checcucci A, Luise D and Pini F (2022)
Editorial: Optimizing probiotic KEYWORDS
applications in agriculture: Exploring
the role of growth and health probiotic, plant growth promoting microorganisms, livestock, sustainability,
promoter’s microorganisms in plants agriculture
and livestock animals.
Front. Microbiol. 13:993075.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.993075

COPYRIGHT
© 2022 Checcucci, Luise and Pini. This Editorial on the Research Topic
is an open-access article distributed
Optimizing probiotic applications in agriculture: Exploring the role
under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (CC BY). of growth and health promoter’s microorganisms in plants and
The use, distribution or reproduction livestock animals
in other forums is permitted, provided
the original author(s) and the copyright
owner(s) are credited and that the
original publication in this journal is At the current state, the agricultural and livestock production would not be able to
cited, in accordance with accepted
sustain the exponential increase of global population expected for the next 50 years.
academic practice. No use, distribution
or reproduction is permitted which Furthermore, the change in dietary habits in favor of a higher meat consumption, will
does not comply with these terms. increase the food demand in the coming decades (Salter, 2017).
Intensive agricultural farming also involves the use of substances causing
agrochemical pollution such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and plant growth
regulators, to control damages that may arise from environmental conditions or biotic
stresses toward crops. Furthermore, the large use of antibiotics to sustain livestock
production would lead to the emerging of antibiotic resistant strains and to a decrease
of the overall microbial biodiversity (Aidara-Kane et al., 2018).
The need for a sustainable increase of agricultural productivity has then become one
of the most important challenges of the last 25 years. The slowing of environmental
degradation (due to deforestation practices) and soil depletion (due to the overuse of
agricultural land) are among the primary goals for forward-looking and non-impacting
agricultural practices (Borrelli et al., 2017).
Probiotics are defined as beneficial microbes, conferring health benefits to the host
whether it is a plant or an animal. In this sense, in the last years the exploitation
of probiotic microorganisms for the plant wellness and growth has largely caught
on, so much so that nowadays, bioinoculants based on plant growth promoting
(PGP) microorganisms are fundamental in green agriculture (Maitra et al., 2022). PGP

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Checcucci et al. 10.3389/fmicb.2022.993075

microorganisms are part of a complex microbial community by Rodríguez-Sorrento et al. The authors observed that the
which naturally colonize plants as endophytes diffusing in supplementation of B. longum subsp. infantis combined with
internal tissues and roots and as rhizobacteria diffusing in the a mixture of inulin and fructooligosaccharides may have
rhizosphere and contributing to their biotic (such as pathogens) promising results against infections due to Salmonella enterica
and abiotic stress tolerance like high salinity concentrations serovar Typhimurium and Escherichia coli F4, which are two
(Bellabarba et al., 2019). of the most relevant pathogens for piglets. The symbiotic
PGP traits and abilities range over nitrogen fixation, combination was able to influence the fermentation and the
phosphorus solubilization, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate immune system activities in the gut of post-weaning piglets,
(ACC) deaminase, indole acetic acid (IAA) and siderophores depending on the pathogen infection.
production, biocontrol agents against pathogens production. Overall, considering the potential of probiotics
These are the characteristics mostly used to screen for PGP for improving plant and animal health, a continuous
rhizobacteria (PGPR); however other features may be useful development and research would be necessary to
for their identification. Shi et al. showed that the capability to identify new bacterial strains or new combinations of
use metabolites commonly found in root exudates could be an probiotics. Studies for a deeper characterization of PGP
alternative approach for the screening of potential PGPR, as microorganisms and their in-planta effects should be
rhizosphere and roots colonization is a fundamental prerequisite necessary to foresee the induced physiological effects in
to exert their PGP role. plant growth and development. Furthermore, account for the
Among the PGP traits mostly screened, one of particular consequences of probiotics inoculation on pre-existing plant
interest is the resistance to water deficiency, as this issue will microbiota could allow the development of highly specific
become more and more prominent in the next few years because bioinoculants, selected on the basis of plant genome and
of climate change. Riva et al. tested different PGP bacterial its microbiome.
strains as bioinoculants on tomato plants in normal and water The research for their use in livestock animals should aim
deficit conditions, showing a significant effect of the strains to offset the specific requirements during the different growing
tested to increase the number of productive plants in a short- phases, as well as the specific sanitary conditions/pathogen
term assay. infections. Furthermore, the continuous collaboration between
In the past years, PGP strains have been isolated from many scientific research, industry and in-field figures is encouraged
different plants, in particular from plants of commercial interest. to facilitate the development of a practical guide to lead to a
PGP bacteria may be highly different within the same plant transition into a more sustainable production of meat, based on
species exhibiting different functional roles to increase plant a reduction of antimicrobials use.
productivity. Gushgary-Doyle et al. have characterized three N2
fixing switchgrass endophytes, at genomic and phenotypic level,
highlighting the presence of multiple PGP features in each strain,
Author contributions
from nutrient mobilization to plant hormone production.
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct,
However, also less common plant species could be a potential
and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it
resource for novel PGP bacteria; Jain et al. explored the cultivable
for publication.
endophytic community of Arnebia euchroma, a plant typical
of the cold Himalayan desert, isolating several microorganisms
(bacteria and fungi) with different PGP capabilities that may Conflict of interest
help their host to withstand in cold environments.
The use of probiotic bacteria is not limited to plants but is The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
now increasing its interest as a potential strategy to reduce the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
use of antibiotics and antimicrobials to increase performance be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
and sustain the health of livestock animals.
As reviewed by Luise et al. the use of Bacillus strains as
a probiotic strategy can have promising results in terms of Publisher’s note
growth performance and health; contributing in a reduced post-
weaning diarrhea in piglets and the mortality in broilers. The All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
correct definition of probiotic strains and doses would allow authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
achieving the same performance and health parameters obtained organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
using antimicrobials. reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or
Furthermore, probiotics strains can be used together with claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed
specific prebiotics to obtain a synergic effect as proposed or endorsed by the publisher.

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References
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Maitra, S., Brestic, M., Bhadra, P., Shankar, T., Praharaj, S., Palai, J. B.,
Bellabarba, A., Fagorzi, C., diCenzo, G. C., Pini, F., Viti, C., and Checcucci, et al. (2022). Bioinoculants-Natural Biological Resources for Sustainable Plant
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