Plant exudates-driven microbiome recruitment and assembly facilitates plant health management.

Summary

This review, published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews, synthesises current understanding of how plants actively shape their rhizosphere microbiome through root exudate signalling, and the downstream consequences for plant health management. The authors likely review the chemical ecology of exudate–microbe interactions, the mechanisms of community assembly, and translational applications in biological disease suppression and growth promotion. The paper represents a contribution to the emerging field of microbiome engineering as an alternative or complement to conventional agrochemical inputs.

UK applicability

Although the review is international in scope, its findings are broadly applicable to UK arable and horticultural systems, where interest in reducing synthetic pesticide and fertiliser inputs is growing under policy frameworks such as the Environmental Land Management scheme. Understanding exudate-driven microbiome recruitment could inform UK breeding programmes and soil management strategies aimed at enhancing naturally suppressive soils.

Key measures

Rhizosphere microbiome composition and diversity; exudate chemical profiles; plant health outcomes; biocontrol efficacy indicators; microbial community assembly patterns

Outcomes reported

The review examines how plant-derived root exudates selectively recruit and assemble rhizosphere microbial communities, and how this process can be harnessed to suppress pathogens, promote plant growth, and manage plant health. It likely synthesises mechanisms by which specific exudate compounds (sugars, organic acids, flavonoids, antimicrobials) shape microbiome composition and function.

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