Editorial: Plant microbiome: Ecology, functions, and application trends

Abstract

The importance of plant-and soil-associated microbiota has been increasingly recognized in recent years. The microbiome is critical in plant development, evolution, ecology, and health, including nutrient uptake, host protection from pathogens, and abiotic stress tolerance. The microbiome community varies across plant compartments, such as soil, roots, and phyllosphere, depending on changes in their physical and chemical characteristics (Singh et al., 2020). Moreover, plant characteristics such as root and shoot morphology and anatomy can change nutrient availability and associated microbiome (Lynch, 2019). Host genetics and environmental factors greatly influence the selection and structure of the plant microbiome (