Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Peer-reviewed

Dominance and natural suppression of bacterial plant pathogens across global soils

Min Gao, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Chao Xiong, Tadeo Sáez‐Sandino, Juntao Wang, J. Nellie Liang, Emilio Guirado, Miriam Muñoz-Rojas, Raúl Román, Fernando T. Maestre, Brajesh K. Singh

Nature Communications · 2026

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Summary

Soils are the primary environmental reservoir of plant pathogens impacting food production and ecosystem productivity worldwide. Yet, some soils can also suppress pathogens through environmental and microbial regulation. Here we integrate 1602 soil metagenomes from 59 countries with a greenhouse experiment to identify 32 dominant pathogens, including Ralstonia solanacearum, Clavibacter michiganensis, and Streptomyces europaeiscabiei. Pathogen hotspots occur primarily in warm ecosystems and agricultural soils, whereas higher soil microbial diversity, increased soil organic carbon and colder climatic conditions are associated with lower pathogen prevalence. Non-pathogenic Streptomyces spp., arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and biosynthetic gene clusters encoding terpenes and polyketides are ass

Subject
Soil carbon & organic matter
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
System type
Other
DOI
10.1038/s41467-026-70233-5
Catalogue ID
SNmpdjw1jr-aauwyv
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