Original title: The Role of Soil Microorganisms in Plant Mineral Nutrition—Current Knowledge and Future Directions
Plant roots live among many soil microbes. Some fungi and bacteria help plants get minerals, including bacteria that fix nitrogen. Plants appear to shape the microbes around their roots, probably by releasing substances from their roots. Researchers are studying how these partnerships work, but many of the mechanisms are still unknown.
Imagine setting out food for guests at a busy dinner. Some guests come because of what you serve, and they may bring something useful to share. In this paper, the roots are the host shaping who gathers nearby, and some of the bacteria help the plant obtain minerals. The researchers are trying to work out exactly how those exchanges happen.
Minerals help plants grow, and farmers often rely on synthetic inputs to supply them. Understanding which root-associated bacteria help plants obtain minerals could inform efforts to improve plant nutrition and reduce reliance on those inputs, though the abstract does not show that microbes can replace them.
The abstract says that the mechanisms behind plant–microbe interactions and the processes that alter microbiomes remain largely unknown. It describes a review of current knowledge and future directions, but does not establish that microbes can replace synthetic agricultural inputs or provide specific evidence for field-scale outcomes.
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The Role of Soil Microorganisms in Plant Mineral Nutrition—Current Knowledge and Future Directions — Richard P. Jacoby, Manuela Peukert, A. Succurro et al. — Frontiers in Plant Science — doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.01617
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.