
Review: Root exudates as the architects of the rhizosphere microbiome
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe “Green Revolution” transformed global food production through the use of fertilizer, but at the expense of rising costs and reliance on non-renewable inputs, prompting modern agriculture to shift toward alternative strategies such as the symbiotic relationships between plants and soil microorganisms.…

Amping up reproducibility of microbiome studies through standardized protocols and fabricated ecosystems
Plant Science Research Weekly
There is ample evidence for the impacts of plant microbiomes to plant growth and metabolism, but there are also challenges to obtaining reproducible data. In a first of its kind multi-laboratory microbiome reproducibility study, researchers from five groups across three continents used prefabricated…

Signals in the air and soil: the hidden communication circuit that shapes plant resilience
Plant Science Research WeeklyWhen plants grow shoulder to shoulder in crowded fields, they don’t just compete for space and sunlight—they also “talk” to one another. This underground and airborne chatter, carried by leaf volatiles and root exudates, helps plants sense nearby neighbors and prepare for threats. But how exactly…

Herbivore bites promote plant growth in the succeeding year
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn Chinese, there is an old poem suggesting that livestock bites promote crop yield in the succeeding year. In this new work, Hu et al. provide evidence to support the traditional wisdom and propose the mechanism behind it. Previous studies showed that herbivore bites on leaves induce the release of…

Stealth mode: How Rhodanobacter R179 evades plant immunity
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe soil microbiome harbors a vast diversity of microorganisms that can be pathogenic, beneficial, or commensal to plants. A fundamental question in plant biology is how plants actively detect, differentiate, and optimize their associations with the microbiome to maintain optimal fitness. In a recent…

Virtual issue: The chemical language of plant–microbe–microbe associations
Plant Science Research WeeklyDon’t miss this exciting Virtual Issue from New Phytologist on “plant-microbe-microbe” interactions. That’s not a typo – many of the articles address the signals that coordinate such multi-factorial interactions, as there is a growing recognition that interrelations between microbes influence…

Review. Microbial tug-of-war: How plants and pathogens manipulate microbiomes
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe composition of plant-associated microbes is influenced by plant genetics, immune responses, environmental factors, and interactions between microbes. During disease development, the microbial community at infection sites changes due to tissue damage, altered immune responses, and manipulation via…

Keystone metabolites influence rhizosphere metabolomes and microbiomes
Plant Science Research Weekly
Rhizosphere interactions between plants and microbes are essential for nitrogen cycling, stress tolerance, and plant health in general. Metabolites secreted by plant roots can greatly influence microbial community composition, although how different environmental conditions impact these interactions…

Harnessing the potential of soil microbial allies to combat Striga infection in sorghum roots
Plant Science Research WeeklyMicrobial neighbors of plants in the soil comprise of a vast array of bacteria and fungi, collectively known as the microbiome. This soil microbial community forms close associations with plants and regulates plant growth and development by inducing changes in the plant and soil metabolites. In this…
