A new crop microbiome study shows that crop species, rather than soil type, primarily determines the beneficial functions provided by root-associated microbes. Researchers say the findings could support microbial inoculants and microbiome-assisted breeding for sustainable agriculture.
The post Crop Microbiome Study Shows Plants Select Microbes appeared first on Seed World.
Research suggests crop species play a stronger role than soil type in determining the beneficial functions of root-associated bacteria.
A new study shows that crop species, rather than soil type, primarily determines the beneficial functions provided by root-associated microbes.
The study used soils collected from nine locations across the UK to grow six major arable crops: wheat, barley, oats, fava beans, oilseed rape and sugar beet. The researchers found that while local soil conditions shaped which bacteria were present, the crop species determined the beneficial functions those bacteria performed.
The findings could have important implications for the development of microbial inoculants and microbiome-assisted breeding strategies aimed at supporting more sustainable agriculture.
UK Cryobank Supports Large-Scale Analysis
The research team, from Rothamsted Research, CABI, the John Innes Centre, the James Hutton Institute and Scotland’s Rural College, used the UK Crop Microbiome Cryobank (UKCMCB) — the world’s first open crop and soil microbiome resource — to characterise more than 24,000 bacterial cultures and 315 soil microbiome libraries, according to a press release.
“What really stood out was that the soil environment dictates which bacteria are present, but the crop selects bacteria based on what beneficial functions they provide,” said lead author Dr. Rodrigo Taketani of Rothamsted Research. “This tells us that plants are actively selecting microbes for their functional properties — for example, to help with nutrient acquisition or stress tolerance — drawing on locally available bacteria to provide these services.”
Different Crops Attract Different Microbial Skills
Different crops seemed to “choose” microbes with different skills:
- Sugar beet and oilseed rape rhizospheres attracted microbes that help plants survive dry conditions, likely because their large tap roots create a drier root environment.
- Barley attracted microbes that help unlock zinc from the soil, which plants need to grow.
- Fava bean rhizospheres attracted fewer microbes capable of breaking down organic sources of nitrogen in the soil, potentially because the legume–Rhizobium partnership already provides a sufficient nitrogen supply.
“These functional differences between crops are remarkably consistent across very different soils and locations,” said co-author Ian Clark of Rothamsted Research. “The fact that we see the same crop-specific patterns whether the soil came from Scotland or Hertfordshire tells us this is a genuine biological selection driven by the plant, not a quirk of any particular soil type.”
Breeding Crops to Work With Native Microbes
“Due to the high microbial diversity and competition in soil a ‘one size fits all’ approach to microbial inoculation is unlikely to be optimal,” said senior author Dr Tim Mauchline, also of Rothamsted Research. “A more effective long-term approach may be to breed crops that are better at selecting beneficial native soil microbes, rather than relying on introduced strains that often fail to establish.”
The post Crop Microbiome Study Shows Plants Select Microbes appeared first on Seed World.