Microbial Interactions in Seed and Plant Systems
Summary
Plants function as holobionts, hosting diverse bacterial, fungal and archaeal communities that colonise seeds, roots, stems and leaves. Seeds act as a critical bottleneck, transmitting a heritable core microbiome that influences germination, seedling vigour and early development. Upon imbibition, seed‐associated microbes interact with exudates to establish niche‐specific communities in the spermosphere, rhizosphere and phyllosphere. Concurrent horizontal acquisition from soil, air and water further shapes community composition, driven by host genotype, edaphic factors and climate. Microbial interactions range from mutualistic support of nutrient uptake, stress tolerance and hormone modulation to antagonistic suppression of pathogens. Complex cross‐kingdom networks contribute to colonisation resistance and community stability. Advances in high‐throughput sequencing and metagenomics have revealed the functional traits underlying community assembly and the importance of spatial partitioning within embryos, pericarps and seed coats. Practical applications include the design of microbiome‐informed breeding programmes, development of bioinoculants for sustainable agriculture and predictive models of crop resilience under changing environmental conditions.
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Microbial Interactions in Seed and Plant Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in microbial interactions in seed and plant systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Microbiome: the assemblage of microorganisms and their genetic material associated with a specific environment or host.
Endophyte: a microorganism that lives within plant tissues without causing disease.
Epiphyte: a microorganism residing on plant surfaces.
Vertical transmission: the passage of microorganisms from parent to offspring via seeds or reproductive structures.
Core microbiome: the set of microbial taxa consistently found across individuals of a host species.
Rhizosphere: the soil region influenced by root secretions and associated microbial communities.
Phyllosphere: the aerial surfaces of plants, including leaves, harbouring microbial assemblages.
References
- Host genotype, soil composition, and geo-climatic factors shape the fonio seed microbiome. Microbiome (2024).
- Seed tuber imprinting shapes the next-generation potato microbiome. Environmental Microbiome (2024).
- Experimental evidence of microbial inheritance in plants and transmission routes from seed to phyllosphere and root. Environmental Microbiology (2021).
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