Beneficial and pathogenic plant‐microbe interactions during flooding stress

Summary

This narrative review synthesises current understanding of how flooding stress, mediated primarily through oxygen depletion, reshapes plant physiology and plant-associated microbial communities. The authors highlight that whilst hypoxia promotes anaerobic microbes with potential pathogenic or denitrifying effects, certain beneficial fungi such as mycorrhiza and dark septate endophytes may ameliorate flood stress impacts. The review calls for further research adopting a holobiont perspective to understand bidirectional, feedback responses between plants and microbes under repeated or prolonged flood conditions.

Regional applicability

The review's conclusions are globally applicable and particularly relevant to United Kingdom agriculture and horticulture, where flood risk is increasing due to climate change. The mechanistic insights into plant-microbe interactions under hypoxia can inform management strategies for flood-prone UK soils and breeding programmes for flood-tolerant crops and horticultural species.

Key measures

Conceptual synthesis of: root aerobic respiration, hydraulic conductance, nutrient uptake, plant growth, rhizosphere and endosphere microbial composition, oxygen uptake capacity, and plant-microbe feedback responses during flooding stress

Outcomes reported

This narrative review examines how flooding-induced hypoxia affects plant physiology and plant-associated microbial communities, identifying both pathogenic and beneficial microbial responses. The paper synthesises evidence on adaptive mechanisms and the potential of beneficial microbes (mycorrhiza, dark septate endophytes) to mitigate flood stress impacts on the plant holobiont.

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