Abstract: Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most devastating diseases of rice worldwide and remains a serious threat to rice production and food security. In recent years, the use of biocontrol microorganisms has emerged as a promising strategy for the environmentally friendly and sustainable management of rice blast. Various groups of biocontrol agents, including bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and synthetic microbial consortia, suppress disease development through multiple mechanisms, such as the production of antagonistic metabolites, competition for nutrients and ecological niches, induction of host defense response, regulation of rhizosphere microbial communities, and promotion of plant growth. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the application of these microbial resources for rice blast control, with a particular emphasis on their functional mechanisms. Current limitations, such as inefficient utilization of microbial resources, incomplete mechanistic understanding, and inconsistent performance under field conditions, are also discussed. Finally, future perspectives focusing on identification of key functional strains, mechanistic elucidation, and microbiomes-based regulation are proposed to support the development of efficient and sustainable biological control strategies for rice blast.

Key words: rice blast, biocontrol microorganisms, antagonistic mechanisms, systemic resistance, rhizosphere microbiome, synthetic microbial consortia