Abstract

There is an ever increasing need for bio-fuels due to escalations in oil prices. The global biofuel production tripled in last decade and it is estimated that the demand for bio-ethanol and bio-diesel will further double by the end of this decade. Among the various bio-energy crops, Jatropha curcas L. is one of the most promising as it has been popularly exploited for the production of bio-diesel. The review discusses prevalence of important microbial groups involved in nutrient cycling such as phosphate-solubilizing bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in the rhizosphere. Further, the review identifies limitations, and addresses research gap of application of genomic technologies to characterize rhizospheric microbiota relevant for sustainability of bioenergy crop J. curcas L.

Key words: Bioenergy, Jatropha, rhizosphere, microbial diversity, nutrient cycling.