Natural variation of the holobiont for sustainable agroecosystems
- Author(s)
- Wolfram Weckwerth, Palak Chaturvedi, Arindam Ghatak, Melina Kerou, Vanika Garg, Abhishek Bohra, Guntur V Subbarao, Lisa Stein, Christa Schleper, Rajeev K Varshney, Sieglinde Snapp
- Abstract
Plant evolution is largely driven by plant-microbe interactions, yet the ecology of the plant holobiont is not well understood at a molecular level. However, these relationships hold diverse benefits for sustainable agriculture as nature-based solutions (NbS). We propose a workflow to enhance understanding of natural variation in the plant-soil microbiome holobiont, addressing key challenges like growth promotion, stress resilience, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), biological nitrification inhibition (BNI), healthy soils, and improving fertilization practices towards a more natural agroecosystem. We discuss a panome-wide association study (PWAS) approach to discover and incorporate novel genetic diversity from exotic germplasm into breeding populations. Ultimately, understanding natural variation of the holobiont in agroecosystems will contribute to the development of novel climate-resilient crop varieties for food security.
- Organisation(s)
- Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Environment and Climate Research Hub
- External organisation(s)
- Murdoch University, ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur, India., Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, University of Alberta, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center CIMMYT, Michigan State University
- Journal
- Trends in Plant Science
- ISSN
- 1360-1385
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2025.05.006
- Publication date
- 06-2025
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 106022 Microbiology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Plant Science
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/2c535e39-7e1a-4a38-bd32-40711eaf8469