Microbial trehalose boosts the ecological fitness of biocontrol agents, the viability of probiotics during long-term storage and plants tolerance to environmental-driven abiotic stress

Despite the impressive gain in agricultural production and greater availability of food, a large portion of the world population is affected by food shortages and nutritional imbalance. This is due to abiotic stresses encountered by plants as a result of environmental-driven perturbations, loss of viability of starter cultures (probiotics) for functional foods during storage as well as the vulnerability of farm produce to postharvest pathogens. The use of compatible solutes (e.g., trehalose, proline, etc.) has been widely supported as a solution to these concerns. Trehalose is one of the widely reported microbial- or plant-derived metabolites that help microorganisms (e.g., biocontrol agents, probiotics and plant growth-promoting bacteria) and plants to tolerate harsh environmental conditions. Due to its recent categorization as generally regarded as safe (GRAS), trehalose is an essential tool for promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture by replacing the overuse of chemical agents (e.g., pesticides, herbicides). Therefore, the current review evaluated the progress currently made in the application of trehalose in sustainable agriculture. The challenges, opportunities, and future of this biometabolite in food security were highlighted.