Journal Article Review Ahead of print
PubMed: 42208156 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2026.128557
Plant-driven assembly and maintenance of disease-suppressive soil microbiomes in a changing climate.
Microbiol Res 310:128557
Authors: Muhammad Asif, Ying Chen, Bing-Ru Bian, Jie Huang, Khalil Ahmad, Lei Dong, Wen-Jun Li
Affiliations
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
- College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
Abstract
Disease-suppressive soils are a fundamental aspect of sustainable agriculture, where native microbiomes help control soilborne pathogens through antagonistic interactions, protecting plant health even in favorable environmental conditions. This review synthesizes the current understanding of how plants actively assemble and maintain protective root microbiomes, a process that initiates and sustains this suppressiveness. The mechanistic depth of this synthesis is anchored primarily in annual cereal and vegetable crop systems, where the genetic, chemical, and ecological bases of plant-driven suppression have been most extensively characterized. While illustrative examples from perennial and woody systems are included to highlight specific principles, a comprehensive treatment of their distinct assembly dynamics, shaped by root persistence and long-term legacy accumulation, lies beyond the scope of this review. We detail how plants recruit beneficial microbes through a dynamic dialogue involving root exudates and immune system modulation, creating rhizosphere hotspots that enrich for protective consortia. This assembly is governed by host genetics, which shapes microbial recruitment and the plant's responsiveness to beneficial feedback. Critically, these interactions foster self-reinforcing legacies, where pathogen-induced stress reprograms exudate profiles to recruit suppressors, establishing durable microbiome shifts that confer intergenerational protection. However, escalating climate change threatens this equilibrium by perturbing microbial community structure, reducing beneficial diversity, favoring opportunistic pathogens, and eroding suppression efficacy. By integrating plant-microbe communication with soil-borne disease ecology, this perspective illuminates strategies for breeding crops and engineering soils to harness protective feedbacks for sustainable, microbiome-mediated disease management.
MeSH
Feedback, Soil, Climate, Microbiology, Maintenance, Biotechnology