ABSTRACT
Increased anthropogenic activities due to industrialization have had a great share in introducing contaminants to the ecosystem and these are a global concern. The agro-ecosystem is not spared, it is continuously contaminated by agricultural and mining activities as well as petroleum exploration and transportation. Remediating contaminated agro-ecosystems is a sine qua non due to its non-renewability, on the human time-scale. Plants and microorganisms have individual capabilities of degradation and transformation of environmental contaminants. However, the plant-microbe association provides a synergism of genetic metabolism for such degradation/transformation. Bioremediation by associations of plants and various microorganisms have gained acceptance as an economical, ecosystem-friendly and self-sustaining agro-ecosystem remediation method. Beneficial associations of plants with bacteria, fungi, algae and cyanobacteria are abundant in the agro-ecosystem and their importance and roles are vast. This chapter provides an overview of contamination sources in agro-ecosystems and different strategies for bioremediation by plant-microbe associations are also highlighted. Moreover, challenges as well as prospects for bioremediation of contaminated agro-ecosystems through plants and soil microbe associations are discussed.
