Microbial partnerships and molecular mechanisms in plant stress physiology for climate-resilient and sustainable farming

Abstract

Plant-microbial partnerships and their underlying molecular mechanisms are indispensable, natural drivers of improved nutrient acquisition and stress tolerance in the face of climate-driven environmental challenges. Modern multi-omics tools, when coupled with artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, enable the precise design of targeted bioinoculants and synthetic microbial consortia. Translating these advanced microbiome-based strategies into scalable, field-level agricultural applications provides a sustainable path toward securing global food production while maintaining soil health. Global climate change imposes multifaceted abiotic and biotic stresses on crops, disrupting physiological and molecular processes and threatening agricultural productivity. Plant-associated microbes represent an underexplored yet powerful ally in enhancing crop resilience. This review presents current knowledge of plant–microbe interactions and the molecular mechanisms governing plant stress physiology, with an emphasis on climate-resilient and sustainable farming. Hence, ever-changing environmental cues pose a significant burden on agricultural productivity, and plant-associated microbial communities modulate a cascade of physiological and molecular responses, including production of phytohormones, signaling, regulation of reactive oxygen species homeostasis, and activation of plant immune responses to help plants withstand stress and enhance productivity. Moreover, root exudates, phytohormones, and quorum sensing mediate the central communication networks, facilitating plant–microbe cross talk. Additionally, the advances in OMICs approaches aid in disentangling the molecular underpinnings of these interactions by providing mechanistic insights and potential candidate gene targets for crop improvement and stress resilience. In the post-genomic era, integrating artificial intelligence and big data analysis to optimize microbiome-based strategies for sustainable agriculture is a new frontier for disentangling plant–microbe symbiosis to improve soil health, enhance crop yields, and improve stress tolerance. Thus, by integrating the ecological, physiological, and molecular perspectives, this review highlights the transformative potential of harnessing plant–microbe symbiosis for climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture. This review provides an up-to-date synthesis of plant–microbe interactions and their molecular roles in enhancing plant tolerance to multiple abiotic and biotic stresses under climate change scenarios. It integrates physiological, molecular, and omics-based perspectives across diverse microbial groups, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses. The review also highlights the potential of microbial symbiosis, together with emerging OMICS, AI, and Big Data approaches, to improve climate resilience and support sustainable agriculture.