DIVERSITY AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF THE MICROBIOME OF SALSOLA PLANTS DISTRIBUTED IN THE DESERT REGIONS OF UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

The deserts of Uzbekistan -Kyzylkum, Ustyurt, and Aralkum -represent extreme ecosystems characterized by high soil salinity, water deficit, and sharp temperature fluctuations. Plants of the genus Salsola (family Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae) are among the key edificators of halophytic and psammophytic vegetation in these territories. Over the past decade, microbiology worldwide has increasingly recognized that halophyte resilience to stress conditions is largely mediated by associated microbial communities -rhizosphere, endophytic, and phyllosphere microbiomes. This article summarizes current knowledge on the taxonomic structure and functional diversity of the microbiome of Salsola species and related halophytes of arid zones, and examines their biotechnological potential -ranging from the development of biofertilizers and biopreparations to enhance salt and drought tolerance of crops, to the bioremediation of saline and technogenically contaminated soils, and the search for novel enzymes and bioactive compounds.