Summary
This narrative review in Trends in Microbiology (2025) synthesises current knowledge on the complex interactions between plant pathogens, soil microbiomes, and soil health. The authors appear to argue that understanding these triadic relationships is essential for managing soil health in agricultural systems, as pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms jointly shape soil functioning, nutrient cycling, and crop performance. The review likely integrates recent advances in metagenomics and ecological theory to inform both fundamental soil science and practical disease management strategies.
UK applicability
The mechanistic insights into pathogen-microbiome interactions are relevant to UK arable and horticultural systems, particularly in understanding soil-borne disease pressures and the potential for microbiome-mediated disease suppression. Application to UK practice would require integration with existing disease-monitoring and soil health assessment frameworks used in UK agriculture.
Key measures
Soil microbial composition and diversity; pathogen prevalence and virulence; soil health indicators; plant disease incidence and severity
Outcomes reported
The paper examines the mechanistic and ecological relationships between plant pathogenic organisms, soil microbial communities, and overall soil health status. It appears to synthesise current understanding of how pathogen-microbiome interactions influence soil functioning and crop productivity.
Topic tags
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