Rhizomicrobiome Engineering: A New Tool for Soil and Plant Health

Sustainable agricultural practices utilize plant-beneficial microbiota that reside in the rhizospheric part of the soil. These bacteria are known for their plant growth-promoting (PGP) and disease-suppressive properties. Although much remains unknown about the resident microbial communities of the soil rhizosphere, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and metagenomics have made it possible to decipher the diversity patterns and metabolic functions of these microbes. Unraveling these mechanisms will enable the formulation of better agricultural solutions to promote plant health. They can be used in conjunction with synthetically developed microbial formulations, nanotechnology, and other soil-agricultural practices to engineer the rhizobiome to enhance crop productivity with minimal chemical fertilizer usage.