Microbial Siderophores for Sustainable Agriculture: Stress Tolerance, Biocontrol, Mechanism, and Omics Integration

Microbial siderophores play an important role in improving plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Beyond iron acquisition, they support plant health by regulating oxidative stress, chelating toxic metals, and mediating beneficial plant–microbe interactions. This review highlights the role of siderophore-producing microbes in mitigating salinity, drought, alkaline stress, and metal toxicity, as well as in the improvement of nutrient solubilization and uptake. It also delineates environmental and physiological factors affecting siderophore production. The review additionally explores how the microbial interactions within soil consortia moderate siderophore biosynthesis and bio-control activity. Advances in multi-omics and genome editing approaches are discussed for identifying important genes and pathways associated with siderophore-mediated stress tolerance. The mechanisms behind siderophore-mediated stress tolerance are discussed, mainly their involvement in pathogen suppression through iron competition and activation of induced systemic resistance. Furthermore, it addresses the commercialization challenges and integration of siderophore applications into precision agriculture, aligning their agricultural and environmental benefits with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.