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Article|22 Jul 2022|OPEN
Microbe-assisted crop improvement: a sustainable weapon to restore holobiont functionality and resilience
Sandrini Marco1,2,4 , Moffa Loredana1,2,4 , Velasco Riccardo1 , Balestrini Raffaella3 , , Chitarra Walter1,2,5 , Nerva Luca,1,3,5
1Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-VE), Via XXVIII Aprile 26, 31015 Conegliano (TV), Italy
2Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine (UD), Italy
3National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP-CNR), Strada delle Cacce, 73, 10135 Torino (TO), Italy
4Contributed equally to this work as first authors
5Contributed equally to this work as senior authors
*Corresponding author. E-mail: raffaella.balestrini@ipsp.cnr.it

Horticulture Research 9,
Article number: uhac160 (2022)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhac160
Views: 292

Received: 01 Mar 2022
Accepted: 08 Jul 2022
Published online: 22 Jul 2022

Abstract

In the past years, breeding programs have been mainly addressed on pushing the commercial features, forgetting important traits, such as those related to environmental stress resilience, that are instead present in wild relatives. Among the traits neglected by breeding processes, the ability to recruit beneficial microorganisms that recently is receiving a growing attention due to its potentiality. In this context, this review will provide a spotlight on critical issues of the anthropocentric point of view that, until now, has characterized the selection of elite plant genotypes. Its effects on the plant-microbiome interactions, and the possibility to develop novel strategies mediated by the exploitation of beneficial root-microbe interactions, will be discussed. More sustainable microbial-assisted strategies might in fact foster the green revolution and the achievement of a more sustainable agriculture in a climatic change scenario.