Plants and their networks
Phytobiome is a word that everyone who works with plants will get to know.
The phytobiome – which is the plant and its surrounding microorganisms – is a new research area. We have, of course, studied the plant and its interactions with individual organisms, such as plant pathogens, for years. The novelty is to study all microorganisms at the same time as well as their interactions with each other and the plant. This paradigm shift is to a great extent driven by technological developments, such as high-efficient sequencing methods and metabolomics.
By working within the framework of the phytobiome concept, I believe that we can develop a much better understanding of plant diseases, soil health, the importance of good crop rotations, phytoremediation, plant nutrition and soil structures, to name but a few areas. In the long run, a better understanding of these highly complex interactions will make it possible to design microbiomes that can ensure healthier and more resistant crops either directly by adding synthetic microbiomes to the environment or indirectly by changing the living conditions for the microorganisms in the environment.
Phytobiomes in the spotlight
The concept of phytobiomes is attracting a lot of attention these days. The American Phytopathological Society has recently launched the new publication ”Phytobiomes”. In the USA the ’Phytobiomes initiative”, which will coordinate and promote the area, has also been launched. There are also many new start-up companies in the area.
I recently attended a meeting with Novozymes and one of their allied universities, North Carolina State University, via their BioAg alliance, where phytobiomes was a theme throughout. Novozymes is particularly interested in the area via their commitment to biodiversity and biologicals.
AGRO has very good possibilities for contributing to this area of research that also makes good sense with regard to the concept of agroecology. We have skills with regard to the technologies and, even more important, the biological knowledge that is the basis for understanding the data that are generated by, for example, the new sequencing techniques.