Understanding Bacterial Physiology for Improving Full Fitness

Bacteria are able to contribute to the plant health by forming stable communities, called biofilms, over the plant phyllosphere and rhizosphere. Biofilm formation is a key step in the bacterial life cycle contributing to the colonization, persistence and survival of the bacterial community in the plant tissue, all of them traits required for a beneficial bacteria and the plant hosts interactions. Furthermore, bacterial biofilms can influence plant health through the efficient production and secretion of secondary metabolites that either have a broad range of action against different plant pathogens directly impairing their development, or promoting the plant immunity or the plant growth. In this chapter, we review the molecular basis used by many common bacterial biocontrol agents to antagonize pathogens and to promote plant growth, and the structural components, essential for biofilm formation, that seems to influence and ensure this stable and successful interaction.