Plant, Soil, Microbe Interactions in Response to Environmental Stress

Dear Colleagues,

Intensive and dynamic plant–soil–microbe interactions occur in the soil zone directly adjacent to the root, and their impacts extend beyond the rhizosphere to larger volumes of soil. These multiparty interactions influence plant performance through regulating resource availability, causing and controlling disease, and secondary metabolite signaling. Plants are reported to utilize one or several of these mechanisms in combination to deal with environmental stresses such as drought or invasive plants by actively regulating the soil environment and recruiting beneficial microbes. However, the puzzle is far from complete by lacking pieces of information including, but not limited to, 1) the identity of microorganisms in the interplay with plants and other microbes in association with plants; 2) the dynamics of plant–microbe interactions in relation to soil conditions and plant growth; 3) the ecological and evolutionary basis of plant–soil–microbe interactions; and 4) the broader impact of plant–soil–microbe interactions on ecosystems or agricultural productivity. Answers to these questions are of great interest to agricultural and conservation management.

For this Special Issue, we invite researchers to submit reviews, regular research papers, communications and short notes that aim to answer these or related questions. Studies based on field, potting or lab experiments that involve metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metabolomics are welcome. Meta-analysis, data synthesis and modeling studies are also welcome.

Dr. Mengting Maggie Yuan
Dr. Javier A. Ceja-Navarro
Guest Editors

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