Harnessing the plant microbiome to promote the growth of agricultural crops

Janie Zhang, Jamie Cook, Jacob T. Nearing, Junzeng Zhang, Renee Raudonis, Bernard R. Glick, Morgan G.I. Langille, Zhenyu Cheng

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

139 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The rhizosphere microbiome is composed of diverse microbial organisms, including archaea, viruses, fungi, bacteria as well as eukaryotic microorganisms, which occupy a narrow region of soil directly associated with plant roots. The interactions between these microorganisms and the plant can be commensal, beneficial or pathogenic. These microorganisms can also interact with each other, either competitively or synergistically. Promoting plant growth by harnessing the soil microbiome holds tremendous potential for providing an environmentally friendly solution to the increasing food demands of the world's rapidly growing population, while also helping to alleviate the associated environmental and societal issues of large-scale food production. There recently have been many studies on the disease suppression and plant growth promoting abilities of the rhizosphere microbiome; however, these findings largely have not been translated into the field. Therefore, additional research into the dynamic interactions between crop plants, the rhizosphere microbiome and the environment are necessary to better guide the harnessing of the microbiome to increase crop yield and quality. This review explores the biotic and abiotic interactions that occur within the plant's rhizosphere as well as current agricultural practices, and how these biotic and abiotic factors, as well as human practices, impact the plant microbiome. Additionally, some limitations, safety considerations, and future directions to the study of the plant microbiome are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number126690
JournalMicrobiological Research
Volume245
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work is supported by a Discovery Grant ( RGPIN 04912 ) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to Z.C.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Microbiology

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Review

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