Abstract
Microbial communities play a pivotal role in the functioning of plants by influencing their physiology and development. While many members of the rhizosphere microbiome are beneficial to ...plant growth, also plant pathogenic microorganisms colonize the rhizosphere striving to break through the protective microbial shield and to overcome the innate plant defense mechanisms in order to cause disease. A third group of microorganisms that can be found in the rhizosphere are the true and opportunistic human pathogenic bacteria, which can be carried on or in plant tissue and may cause disease when introduced into debilitated humans. Although the importance of the rhizosphere microbiome for plant growth has been widely recognized, for the vast majority of rhizosphere microorganisms no knowledge exists. To enhance plant growth and health, it is essential to know which microorganism is present in the rhizosphere microbiome and what they are doing. Here, we review the main functions of rhizosphere microorganisms and how they impact on health and disease. We discuss the mechanisms involved in the multitrophic interactions and chemical dialogues that occur in the rhizosphere. Finally, we highlight several strategies to redirect or reshape the rhizosphere microbiome in favor of microorganisms that are beneficial to plant growth and health.
In this review, we focus on the frequency, diversity and activities of beneficial (‘the good’), plant pathogenic (‘the bad’) and human pathogenic (‘the ugly’) microorganisms in the rhizosphere and how they impact on health and disease. Specific attention is given to mechanisms involved in multitrophic interactions and chemical dialogues that occur in the rhizosphere. Finally, we discuss strategies to re–direct or re–shape the rhizosphere microbiome in favour of those microbes that are beneficial to plant growth and health.
Soil- and plant-associated environments harbor numerous bacteria that produce antibiotic metabolites with specific or broad-spectrum activities against coexisting microorganisms. The function and ...ecological importance of antibiotics have long been assumed to yield a survival advantage to the producing bacteria in the highly competitive but resource-limited soil environments through direct suppression. Although specific antibiotics may enhance producer persistence when challenged by competitors or predators in soil habitats, at subinhibitory concentrations antibiotics exhibit a diversity of other roles in the life history of the producing bacteria. Many processes modulated by antibiotics may be inherently critical to the producing bacterium, such as the acquisition of substrates or initiation of developmental changes that will ensure survival under stressful conditions. Antibiotics may also have roles in more complex interactions, including in virulence on host plants or in shaping the outcomes of multitrophic interactions. The innate functions of antibiotics to producing bacteria in their native ecosystem are just beginning to emerge, but current knowledge already reveals a breadth of activities well beyond the historical perspective of antibiotics as weaponry in microbial conflicts.
Saving seed microbiomes Berg, Gabriele; Raaijmakers, Jos M
The ISME Journal,
05/2018, Letnik:
12, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Plant seeds are home to diverse microbial communities whose composition is determined by plant genotype, environment, and management practices. Plant domestication is now recognized as an important ...driver of plant-associated microbial diversity. To what extent and how domestication affects seed microbiomes is less well studied. Here we propose a 'back-to-the-future' approach to harness seed microbiomes of wild relatives of crop cultivars to save and re-instate missing beneficial seed microbes for improved plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress.
Ecology and Evolution of Plant Microbiomes Cordovez, Viviane; Dini-Andreote, Francisco; Carrión, Víctor J ...
Annual review of microbiology,
09/2019, Letnik:
73, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Microorganisms colonizing plant surfaces and internal tissues provide a number of life-support functions for their host. Despite increasing recognition of the vast functional capabilities of the ...plant microbiome, our understanding of the ecology and evolution of the taxonomically hyperdiverse microbial communities is limited. Here, we review current knowledge of plant genotypic and phenotypic traits as well as allogenic and autogenic factors that shape microbiome composition and functions. We give specific emphasis to the impact of plant domestication on microbiome assembly and how insights into microbiomes of wild plant relatives and native habitats can contribute to reinstate or enrich for microorganisms with beneficial effects on plant growth, development, and health. Finally, we introduce new concepts and perspectives in plant microbiome research, in particular how community ecology theory can provide a mechanistic framework to unravel the interplay of distinct ecological processes-i.e., selection, dispersal, drift, diversification-that structure the plant microbiome.
A wide range of microorganisms produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), highly hydrated polymers that are mainly composed of polysaccharides, proteins, and DNA. EPS are fundamental for ...microbial life and provide an ideal environment for chemical reactions, nutrient entrapment, and protection against environmental stresses such as salinity and drought. Microbial EPS can enhance the aggregation of soil particles and benefit plants by maintaining the moisture of the environment and trapping nutrients. In addition, EPS have unique characteristics, such as biocompatibility, gelling, and thickening capabilities, with industrial applications. However, despite decades of research on the industrial potential of EPS, only a few polymers are widely used in different areas, especially in agriculture. This review provides an overview of current knowledge on the ecological functions of microbial EPSs and their application in agricultural soils to improve soil particle aggregation, an important factor for soil structure, health, and fertility.
The rhizosphere microbiome is pivotal for plant health and growth, providing defence against pests and diseases, facilitating nutrient acquisition and helping plants to withstand abiotic stresses. ...Plants can actively recruit members of the soil microbial community for positive feedbacks, but the underlying mechanisms and plant traits that drive microbiome assembly and functions are largely unknown. Domestication of plant species has substantially contributed to human civilization, but also caused a strong decrease in the genetic diversity of modern crop cultivars that may have affected the ability of plants to establish beneficial associations with rhizosphere microbes. Here, we review how plants shape the rhizosphere microbiome and how domestication may have impacted rhizosphere microbiome assembly and functions via habitat expansion and via changes in crop management practices, root exudation, root architecture, and plant litter quality. We also propose a “back to the roots” framework that comprises the exploration of the microbiome of indigenous plants and their native habitats for the identification of plant and microbial traits with the ultimate goal to reinstate beneficial associations that may have been undermined during plant domestication.
The rhizosphere microbiome has a key role in plant growth and health, providing a first line of defense against root infections by soil-borne pathogens. Here, we investigated the composition and ...metabolic potential of the rhizobacterial community of different common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivars with variable levels of resistance to the fungal root pathogen Fusarium oxysporum (Fox). For the different bean cultivars grown in two soils with contrasting physicochemical properties and microbial diversity, rhizobacterial abundance was positively correlated with Fox resistance. Pseudomonadaceae, bacillaceae, solibacteraceae and cytophagaceae were more abundant in the rhizosphere of the Fox-resistant cultivar. Network analyses showed a modular topology of the rhizosphere microbiome of the Fox-resistant cultivar, suggesting a more complex and highly connected bacterial community than in the rhizosphere of the Fox-susceptible cultivar. Metagenome analyses further revealed that specific functional traits such as protein secretion systems and biosynthesis genes of antifungal phenazines and rhamnolipids were more abundant in the rhizobacterial community of the Fox-resistant cultivar. Our findings suggest that breeding for Fox resistance in common bean may have co-selected for other unknown plant traits that support a higher abundance of specific beneficial bacterial families in the rhizosphere with functional traits that reinforce the first line of defense.
Disease suppressive soils offer effective protection to plants against infection by soil-borne pathogens, including fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, and nematodes. The specific disease suppression that ...operates in these soils is, in most cases, microbial in origin. Therefore, suppressive soils are considered as a rich resource for the discovery of beneficial microorganisms with novel antimicrobial and other plant protective traits. To date, several microbial genera have been proposed as key players in disease suppressiveness of soils, but the complexity of the microbial interactions as well as the underlying mechanisms and microbial traits remain elusive for most disease suppressive soils. Recent developments in next generation sequencing and other 'omics' technologies have provided new insights into the microbial ecology of disease suppressive soils and the identification of microbial consortia and traits involved in disease suppressiveness. Here, we review the results of recent 'omics'-based studies on the microbial basis of disease suppressive soils, with specific emphasis on the role of rhizosphere bacteria in this intriguing microbiological phenomenon.
•Reciprocal interactions between the microbiome and the plant can shape the foundation of the MicrobiHome.•Soil pore sizes along roots generate differently sized ‘rooms’ for microbiomes.•Design crops ...with extended root phenotypes and genotypes to recruit and activate beneficial microbiomes.•Develop new strategies to engineer crops and microbiome with mutual benefits.
The plant microbiome comprises a highly diverse community of saprotrophic, mutualistic, and pathogenic microbes that can affect plant growth and plant health. There is substantial interest to exploit beneficial members of plant microbiomes for new sustainable management strategies in crop production. However, poor survival and colonization of plant tissues by introduced microbial isolates as well as lack of expression of the plant growth-promoting or disease-suppressive traits at the right time and place are still major limitations for successful implementation of microbiomes in future agricultural practices and plant breeding programs. Similar to building a home for humans, we discuss different strategies of building a home for beneficial plant microbiomes, here referred to as the ‘MicrobiHome’.
Rewilding plant microbiomes Raaijmakers, Jos M.; Kiers, E. Toby
Science,
11/2022, Letnik:
378, Številka:
6620
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Microbiota of crop ancestors may offer a way to enhance sustainable food production
Over the past decade, research has shown that microorganisms living on and inside eukaryotes—the microbiota—are ...drivers of host health. For plants, microbiota can greatly expand their genomic capabilities by enhancing immunity, nutrient acquisition, and tolerance to environmental stresses (
1
). More than ever, plant microbiota are being considered as a lever to increase the sustainability of food production under a changing climate. Emerging from this global interest to harness the largely unexplored functional potential of microbiota, the microbiome rewilding hypothesis posits that plant and animal health can be improved by reinstating key members of the diverse (ancestral) microbiota that were lost through domestication and industrialization processes, including changes in diet, plant and animal breeding, and the (over)use of antibiotics, pesticides, and fertilizers (
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).