Rhizosphere Microbial Community Diversity

Dear Colleagues,

The plant rhizosphere is recognized as one of the main hot spots for diversity and the activity of microorganisms in terrestrial ecosystems and, in the last few years, the vast diversity of microorganisms in the rhizosphere has been revealed by never-before-seen advances in culturomics and metagenomics approaches. In this context, diverse studies have shown that rhizospheres are able to recruit specific and dynamic microbial communities that are crucial for the growth and fitness of plants throughout their phenology. Studies have also revealed that the rhizosphere not only harbors broad microbial diversity but also can harbor diverse beneficial microorganisms, mainly bacteria and fungi, which are commonly isolated and applied as commercial microbial biostimulants to improve the yields in agroecosystems, even under environmental stress.

Consequently, this Special Issue welcomes microbiologists, ecologists, biologists, biochemists, bioinformatics, agriculturists, and biotechnologists to contribute new knowledge on the diversity of the rhizosphere-associated microbiomes of plants. Contributions may focus on, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Microbial diversity in the rhizosphere (including rhizoplane and rhizoheath) of plants in any environment, such as agroecosystems, undisturbed environments, extreme environments, urban areas, and built environments, etc.;
• The role and influence of rhizosphere-associated microbiomes on growth, nutrition and tolerance of plants;
• The effects of land use, soil management (fertilization), pollution, diseases, and/or abiotic stress on the microbial and functional diversity of rhizosphere-associated microbiomes;
• The relevance of rhizosphere-associated microbiomes in the context of ‘climate change’ and/or ‘One Health’ scenarios;
• Culturomics- and omics-based approaches to monitoring and/or tracking specific microbes in rhizosphere-associated microbiomes;
• Bioprospecting and the formulation of novel biostimulants based on members of rhizosphere microbiomes.

Interdisciplinary approaches to investigating microbe-mediated processes in the rhizosphere, such as sustainable agriculture, soil restoration, urban vegetation, machine learning, and public policy, among others, are particularly welcome.

Dr. Milko A. Jorquera
Guest Editor

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