Plant Microbiome Engineering: Expected Benefits for Improved Crop Growth and Resilience

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) Vol. 38; no. 12; pp. 1385 - 1396
• Main Authors: Arif, Inessa, Batool, Maria, Schenk, Peer M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-12-2020; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Agricultural management; Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; Algae; Bacteria; beneficial plant–microbe interactions; biocontrol; Biomass; biostimulant; Biotechnology; Carbon; Commercialization; Consortia; Crop diseases; Crop growth; Crop residues; Crop resilience; Crop rotation; Crop yield; disease resistance; Farmers; Fertilizers; Genetic engineering; Inoculation; Legumes; Manures; microbial biofertilizer; microbial biopesticide; microbial community; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Nutrients; Pathogens; Pesticides; Plant growth; plant growth promotion; Probiotics; Productivity; Regulatory approval; rhizosphere; Rice; Salinity; Soil amendment; soil conditioner; Soil fertility; soil microbiome engineering; Substrates; Traditional farming; Transplantation; Wheat; soil microbiome engineering; microbial community; disease resistance; soil amendment; soil conditioner; microbial biopesticide; beneficial plant–microbe interactions; biocontrol; biostimulant; plant growth promotion; microbial biofertilizer; rhizosphere
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.04.015

Plant-associated microbiomes can boost plant growth or control pathogens. Altering the microbiome by inoculation with a consortium of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can enhance plant development and mitigate against pathogens as well as abiotic stresses. Manipulating the plant holobiont by microbiome engineering is an emerging biotechnological strategy to improve crop yields and resilience. Indirect approaches to microbiome engineering include the use of soil amendments or selective substrates, and direct approaches include inoculation with specific probiotic microbes, artificial microbial consortia, and microbiome breeding and transplantation. We highlight why and how microbiome services could be incorporated into traditional agricultural practices and the gaps in knowledge that must be answered before these approaches can be commercialized in field applications.
Symbiotic bacteria can boost plant growth, control pathogens, or alleviate abiotic stress.Microbiome engineering incorporated into traditional agricultural practices can improve microbial ecosystem services for crop yield and resilience.New agricultural practices may include microbiome breeding, transplantation, and targeted microbiome engineering, for example by strategic soil amendments in which selective addition of plant exudates attracts and maintains beneficial microbes, or by directly applying microbial consortia as probiotics.Customized microbiome engineering will be necessary to cope with the many variables, including soil type, environmental/climatic conditions, growth stage, and genotype of the plant, to influence the microbiome in a purposeful and effective manner.Breeding 'microbe-friendly' crops can complement microbiome engineering to better attract and maintain beneficial microbiomes.