A Microbiome Engineering Framework to Evaluate Rhizobial Symbionts of Legumes

Authors

Kenjiro W. Quides, Chapman UniversityFollow
Hagop S. Atamian, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-4-2021

Abstract

Background

For well over a century, rhizobia have been recognized as effective biofertilizer options for legume crops. This has led to the widespread use of rhizobial inoculants in agricultural systems, but a recurring issue has emerged: applied rhizobia struggle to provide growth benefits to legume crops. This has largely been attributed to the presence of soil rhizobia and has been termed the ‘rhizobial competition problem.’

Scope

Microbiome engineering has emerged as a methodology to circumvent the rhizobial competition problem by creating legume microbiomes that do not require exogenous rhizobia. However, we highlight an alternative implementation of microbiome engineering that focuses on untangling the complexities of the symbiosis that contribute to the rhizobial competition problem. We outline three approaches that use different starting inocula to test hypotheses to overcome the rhizobial competition problem.

Conclusions

The approaches we suggest are targeted at various stages of the legume-rhizobium symbiosis and will help us uncover underlying molecular mechanisms that contribute to the rhizobial competition problem. We conclude with an integrative perspective of these different approaches and suggest a path forward for future research on legumes and their complex microbiome.

Comments

This article was originally published in Plant and Soil in 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04892-2

Recommended Citation

Quides, K.W., Atamian, H.S. A microbiome engineering framework to evaluate rhizobial symbionts of legumes. Plant Soil (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04892-2

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.