The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants
Medicinal plants, a significant category of biological resources with substantial medical and economic value, produce secondary metabolites that exhibit extensive pharmacological activities and important biological functions. These metabolites serve as key indicators for evaluating the quality of me...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-09-01
|
| Series: | Plant Stress |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X25002337 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849228327289618432 |
|---|---|
| author | Xueqian Zhang Qingsong Ran Yanfeng Han Longzhan Gan Xiao Zou Chunbo Dong |
| author_facet | Xueqian Zhang Qingsong Ran Yanfeng Han Longzhan Gan Xiao Zou Chunbo Dong |
| author_sort | Xueqian Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Medicinal plants, a significant category of biological resources with substantial medical and economic value, produce secondary metabolites that exhibit extensive pharmacological activities and important biological functions. These metabolites serve as key indicators for evaluating the quality of medicinal materials. The quality of medicinal materials is closely related to the environment, with those grown under adverse conditions often exhibiting superior quality, a phenomenon known as “stress-induced quality enhancement.” Rhizosphere microorganisms play an essential role in this process. Therefore, in this review, based on existing literature, we explore the mechanisms through which medicinal plants modulate their physiological and metabolic processes via rhizosphere microbiological mechanisms under adverse conditions to enhance the quality of medicinal materials. Specifically, plants subjected to stress increase the production of secondary metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and alkaloids, to mitigate stress-induced damage. Concurrently, rhizosphere microorganisms promote the synthesis of these secondary metabolites by improving the plant’s antioxidant system, inducing endogenous hormonal responses, participating in nutrient element cycling, regulating the expression of related enzymes and genes, and activating plant immune responses, thereby enhancing the quality of medicinal materials under adverse stress. However, the understanding of these mechanisms remains limited. Thus, we propose several future research directions and suggest that strategies such as genetic breeding, the development of synthetic microbial communities, and the engineering of synthetic ecosystems have the potential to cultivate new varieties of medicinal plants that are high-yielding, of superior quality, and resilient to stress, thereby providing new impetus for the sustainable and healthy development of the medicinal materials industry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d0fda1c08595458086e86c7873864d98 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-064X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plant Stress |
| spelling | doaj-art-d0fda1c08595458086e86c7873864d982025-08-23T04:49:41ZengElsevierPlant Stress2667-064X2025-09-011710096510.1016/j.stress.2025.100965The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plantsXueqian Zhang0Qingsong Ran1Yanfeng Han2Longzhan Gan3Xiao Zou4Chunbo Dong5Institute of Fungus Resources, Department of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, ChinaInstitute of Fungus Resources, Department of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, ChinaInstitute of Fungus Resources, Department of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, ChinaInstitute of Fungus Resources, Department of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, ChinaInstitute of Fungus Resources, Department of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, ChinaInstitute of Fungus Resources, Department of Ecology/Key laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, China; Guizhou Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, China; Corresponding author at: College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, China.Medicinal plants, a significant category of biological resources with substantial medical and economic value, produce secondary metabolites that exhibit extensive pharmacological activities and important biological functions. These metabolites serve as key indicators for evaluating the quality of medicinal materials. The quality of medicinal materials is closely related to the environment, with those grown under adverse conditions often exhibiting superior quality, a phenomenon known as “stress-induced quality enhancement.” Rhizosphere microorganisms play an essential role in this process. Therefore, in this review, based on existing literature, we explore the mechanisms through which medicinal plants modulate their physiological and metabolic processes via rhizosphere microbiological mechanisms under adverse conditions to enhance the quality of medicinal materials. Specifically, plants subjected to stress increase the production of secondary metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and alkaloids, to mitigate stress-induced damage. Concurrently, rhizosphere microorganisms promote the synthesis of these secondary metabolites by improving the plant’s antioxidant system, inducing endogenous hormonal responses, participating in nutrient element cycling, regulating the expression of related enzymes and genes, and activating plant immune responses, thereby enhancing the quality of medicinal materials under adverse stress. However, the understanding of these mechanisms remains limited. Thus, we propose several future research directions and suggest that strategies such as genetic breeding, the development of synthetic microbial communities, and the engineering of synthetic ecosystems have the potential to cultivate new varieties of medicinal plants that are high-yielding, of superior quality, and resilient to stress, thereby providing new impetus for the sustainable and healthy development of the medicinal materials industry.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X25002337Medicinal plantsMicrobiomeSecondary metabolitesSynthetic microbial communitiesSynthetic ecosystems |
| spellingShingle | Xueqian Zhang Qingsong Ran Yanfeng Han Longzhan Gan Xiao Zou Chunbo Dong The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants Plant Stress Medicinal plants Microbiome Secondary metabolites Synthetic microbial communities Synthetic ecosystems |
| title | The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants |
| title_full | The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants |
| title_fullStr | The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants |
| title_short | The rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress-induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants |
| title_sort | rhizosphere microecological mechanisms of stress induced quality enhancement in medicinal plants |
| topic | Medicinal plants Microbiome Secondary metabolites Synthetic microbial communities Synthetic ecosystems |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X25002337 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xueqianzhang therhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT qingsongran therhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT yanfenghan therhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT longzhangan therhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT xiaozou therhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT chunbodong therhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT xueqianzhang rhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT qingsongran rhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT yanfenghan rhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT longzhangan rhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT xiaozou rhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants AT chunbodong rhizospheremicroecologicalmechanismsofstressinducedqualityenhancementinmedicinalplants |