From bacterial predators to partners: phages in agriculture

Salehimoghaddam et al., 2026

Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are critical players for shaping the taxonomic and functional composition of plant-associated microbiomes. Yet, their roles in plant health remain overlooked, along with their implications for sustainable agriculture. While phages are recognized as bacterial predators, they can also promote bacterial survival and competitiveness. Here, we highlight the roles phage play in shaping soil microbiomes and promising phage-based applications for sustainable agriculture. Ongoing research highlights the diverse roles of phages in regulating bacterial populations, enhancing nutrient cycling, improving stress tolerance, and suppressing soil-borne pathogens – microbial traits that directly link to plant health. Additionally, emerging applications such as bioremediation, phage-based biosensors, and microbiome engineering underscore phages' potential to revolutionize sustainable farming and optimize agricultural productivity.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70959

Harnessing Plant–Microorganism Interactions to Mitigate Biotic and Abiotic Stresses for Sustainable Crops

Santana dos Santos et al., 2026

Climate change has intensified the occurrence of biotic and abiotic stresses, representing a major threat to agricultural productivity. This climate variability, coupled with the excessive use of agrochemicals, not only compromises environmental sustainability but also exacerbates food insecurity, directly affecting food availability and quality. In this context, biotechnological strategies have proven essential for mitigating the effects of stress on plants, promoting practices focused on agricultural sustainability. Notable among these strategies is the use of plant growth-promoting microorganisms, which are emerging as promising alternatives capable of improving plant tolerance to stress conditions and simultaneously reducing dependence on agrochemicals. These microorganisms can act as nitrogen fixers and solubilizers of nutrients, such as phosphorus and potassium. Additionally, they can influence plant immune responses by inducing systemic resistance and promoting the synthesis of phytohormones, such as auxins, cytokinins, and abscisic acid, which support plant development during the stress response. The interaction between plants and microorganisms represents a sustainable agricultural management strategy capable of enhancing crop tolerance to environmental adversities. In this review, we discuss the microorganisms known to establish beneficial interactions with plants, leading to improved performance under biotic and abiotic stress. Overall, this work highlights the potential of plant–microbe partnerships as a cornerstone for advancing sustainable agriculture in the face of global challenges.

https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/15/4/647

Dual-scale drivers of soil biodiversity in agroecosystems: Field management outweighs landscape effects, but both matter

Gao et al., 2026

1. Soil communities in agricultural fields are shaped by both farm management and surrounding landscape structure. However, their relative contribution and potential interactions remain unclear. Understanding these relationships is essential for conserving soil biodiversity, which underpins key ecosystem functions and services.
2. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a field soil sampling campaign across 87 farms in the Netherlands to assess how field-scale management and landscape structure in combination determine multiple soil communities, including bacteria, fungi, protists and invertebrates, in agroecosystems.
3. Landscape structure significantly influenced the diversity and composition of soil organisms in addition to the strong influence of field-scale management. In particular, the compositional landscape heterogeneity played a stronger role than configurational heterogeneity in shaping soil community composition. Importantly, the influence of landscape structure on soil diversity was independent of land use intensity at the field scale, with the exception of soil invertebrates.
4. Synthesis and applications. These findings highlight the need for conservation strategies that integrate both field-scale and landscape-scale planning. The promotion of diverse land use types might offer a practical pathway to maximize the effectiveness of soil biodiversity conservation within an intensively managed agricultural matrix.

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70295

 

Holobiont:

a biological system consisting of an organism (e.g., an animal, a plant) and the community of microorganisms that live in close association with it.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471492226000073