Can Plant Microbiome Studies Lead to Effective Biocontrol of Plant Diseases?

Abstract

In this review, the wisdom and efficacy of studies seeking disease attenuating microbes and microbiomes only in healthy plant communities is questioned and an alternative view is posited, namely that success in biocontrol of crop diseases may also come from studies of microbiota, or at least individual species isolates, associated with diseased plants. In support of this view, I summarize the current extensive knowledge of the biology behind what is probably the most successful biocontrol of a plant disease, namely the biocontrol of crown gall of stone fruit using non-pathogenic Rhizobium rhizogenes K84, in which the biocontrol agent itself came from a diseased plant.

The Nodule Microbiome: N2-Fixing Rhizobia Do Not Live Alone

“…By doing so and learning how environmental as well as host factors affect the nodule microbial communities, we can begin to engineer consortia of microbes that better match the host and its surroundings. As an example, Ellis (2017) maintains that the study of microbiomes of diseased plants instead of healthy ones is more likely to uncover bacteria that function as BCA. Thus, core microbiomes need to be elucidated for major crops from diverse agricultural regions of the world because abiotic factors, soil geochemistry, and water availability all have a powerful influence on plant diversity and microbial populations.…”

Of genes and microbes: solving the intricacies in host genomes

“…The reason is because of the great deal of effort put into the former two models and that the studies in humans and mice are considerably more relevant to our own health. We do know that a vast collection of literature exists for plant gene-microbe interactions, and many are textbook models, such as those genes involved in the invasion and colonization of Agrobacterium , which involves a complex interplay that would dwarf some of the host-microbe crosstalk in animals (Nester, 2015 ; Ellis, 2017 ). Similarly, a plant GWAS on the microbiome has been published for Arabidopsis thaliana and revealed a list of genes that may participate in a wider scale of interactions as well (Horton et al, 2014 ).…”

Is the Application of Plant Probiotic Bacterial Consortia Always Beneficial for Plants? Exploring Synergies between Rhizobial and Non-Rhizobial Bacteria and Their Effects on Agro-Economically Valuable Crops

“…The term coined to refer to this "intimate partnership" is the plant holobiont [22]. The scientific community is invested in the understanding on how the plant holobiont works, where microbiomes come from, and how to manage them in order to obtain some profit for agricultural systems [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Plant-growth-promoting attributes and entry mechanisms showed by plant probiotic bacteria (PPBs) on plants.…”