Bacterial diversity in agroecosystems

All life forms rely on bacterial processes for their survival. Bacterial diversity is greater than the diversity of any other group of organisms. Bacteria are responsible for diverse metabolic functions that affect soil and plant health. Nutrient cycling, organic matter formation and decomposition, soil structure formation, and plant growth promotion are among the beneficial functions that bacteria perform. Deleterious effects include plant disease promotion. As bacterial functioning is critical to soil and plant health, the objective of this manuscript was to explore bacterial diversity and bioindication in agroecosystems. Microbial research has generally involved studying bacteria that are culturable. However, it is estimated that only a small portion of all bacteria are culturable, a vast portion of soil bacterial communities remains unstudied. With molecular techniques, more information can be obtained about those bacteria that are contributing to ecosystem functioning and are viable, but not culturable. Enhancing knowledge of soil bacterial functioning and diversity will aid in the development of sustainable agroecosystems. (C)Elsevier Science B.V.