Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.5
4.7
Journals
Plants
Special Issues
New Advancements in Plant–Microbes Interactions
share announcement

New Advancements in Plant–Microbes Interactions

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 3018

Editors

Dr. Giovanni Mian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Interests: kiwifruit; grapevine; microbiome; bioinformatics; breeding; biostimulants; soil-borne diseases; fruit quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Luca Iseppi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy
Interests: plant nutrition; sustainable agriculture; soil fertility; climate change; agriculture crop production

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The interactions between plants and their associated microbial communities play a pivotal role in shaping tree fruit and crops productivity, resilience, and quality. In fruit tree production, harnessing beneficial plant–microbe relationships offers a promising avenue for improving plant health, mitigating the impact of pathogens, and enhancing economic sustainability. Understanding these complex interactions is essential for developing innovative and sustainable strategies that optimize microbial communities to support both yield and fruit quality while reducing reliance on chemical inputs.

This Special Issue focuses on advancing the knowledge of plant–microbe interactions and their application in sustainable fruit tree and crop production. We welcome original research and reviews exploring how beneficial microbes contribute to plant growth, disease suppression, and stress resilience. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Characterization of rhizosphere and endophytic microbiomes in fruit tree systems;
  • Microbial strategies for improving plant resistance against soil-borne pathogens;
  • The role of soil amendments, biofertilizers, and biocontrol agents in modulating plant health;
  • Metabarcoding and metagenomic approaches for deciphering plant–microbe interactions;
  • Microbial contributions to fruit quality, nutrient uptake, and post-harvest performance;
  • Economic and environmental benefits of microbiome-based management practices in orchards.

Submitted manuscripts should present novel findings, methodologies, or comprehensive reviews that contribute to the understanding and practical application of beneficial plant–microbe interactions in fruit tree cultivation. This Special Issue aims to promote innovative, science-driven solutions that enhance the sustainability and economic viability of fruit production systems.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to this exciting field.

Dr. Giovanni Mian
Prof. Dr. Luca Iseppi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant–pathogen interactions
  • soil-borne pathogens
  • crop productivity
  • metabarcoding
  • metagenomics
  • rhizosphere microbiome
  • plant tolerance mechanisms
  • soil microbiome management
  • sustainable agriculture
  • disease mitigation strategies

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

31 pages, 7092 KB  
Article
Biocontrol Microbial Inoculants Suppress Fusarium oxysporum-Associated Disease Symptoms in Rice and Reshape Multicompartment Microbiomes
by Assemgul K. Sadvakasova, Dilnaz E. Zaletova, Meruyert O. Bauenova, Bekzhan D. Kossalbayev, Tao Xu, Dariga K. Kirbayeva, Lazzat Asylbekkyzy, Huma Balouch, Dauren Botbayev and Altynbek A. Abseyt
Plants 2026, 15(13), 1986; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15131986 - 26 Jun 2026
Viewed by 157
Abstract
Fusarium oxysporum-associated disease symptoms in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings represent an experimentally tractable model for evaluating microbiome-mediated disease suppression under controlled conditions. Biological control of Fusarium-associated disease development in rice provides a promising ecological alternative to chemical fungicides. However, [...] Read more.
Fusarium oxysporum-associated disease symptoms in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings represent an experimentally tractable model for evaluating microbiome-mediated disease suppression under controlled conditions. Biological control of Fusarium-associated disease development in rice provides a promising ecological alternative to chemical fungicides. However, the mechanisms underlying the spatial reconfiguration of the host plant multicompartment microbiome in response to complex inoculants remain insufficiently understood. In this study, we investigated the ability of the monoculture Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Bn1 (B. amyloliquefaciens Bn) and phototrophic–heterotrophic consortia composed of Nostoc sp. J-1 and B. amyloliquefaciens Bn1 to suppress Fusarium oxysporum infection, with parallel profiling of bacterial and fungal communities in rhizosphere soil, the root endosphere, and the phyllosphere using 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing. Phenotypic screening showed that microbial inoculant application significantly reduced the disease index by up to 55% while maintaining plant dry weight. The protective phenotype was not primarily associated with shifts in alpha diversity, but rather with compartment-specific reorganization of microbial communities. These findings suggest that biological control efficacy was associated less with the overall taxonomic scale of microbiome disturbance than with the formation of a functionally balanced, compartment-specific holobiont architecture but by the formation of a functionally balanced, compartment-specific holobiont architecture, providing a conceptual basis for the targeted design of next-generation phototrophic–heterotrophic biopreparations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in Plant–Microbes Interactions)
15 pages, 5207 KB  
Article
Ability of Different Bacteria from Grapevine to Colonize Arabidopsis thaliana Plants
by Olga A. Aleynova, Alexey A. Ananev, Nikolay N. Nityagovsky, Andrey R. Suprun, Alina A. Beresh, Alexandra S. Dubrovina and Konstantin V. Kiselev
Plants 2026, 15(8), 1151; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15081151 - 9 Apr 2026
Viewed by 591
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of inoculating seeds with bacterial endophytes isolated from Vitis amurensis Rupr. on endophytic community composition in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Ten bacterial isolates of the genera Agrobacterium, Bacillus, Curtobacterium, Erwinia, Frondihabitans, Gordonia, [...] Read more.
This study investigates the impact of inoculating seeds with bacterial endophytes isolated from Vitis amurensis Rupr. on endophytic community composition in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Ten bacterial isolates of the genera Agrobacterium, Bacillus, Curtobacterium, Erwinia, Frondihabitans, Gordonia, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, and Xanthomonas were applied to seeds and some visible phenotypic effects were observed on plant growth after two weeks. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA revealed that the native endophytic microbiome of A. thaliana was dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Actinomycetes, Bacteroidia, and Alphaproteobacteria. The key families were Microscillaceae, Chitinophagaceae, Rhizobiaceae, Rhodanobacteraceae, Nocardioi-daceae, Nocardiaceae, Xanthomonadaceae, Devosiaceae, Microbacteriaceae, Crocinitomi-caceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Solimonadaceae, Comamonadaceae, Caulobacteraceae, and Micrococcaceae. Arabidopsis seed inoculation with Agrobacterium sp. R8SCh-B12, Curtobacterium sp. P7SA-B3, and Gordonia aichiensis P6PL2 significantly reduced alpha diversity (Shannon index) and altered beta diversity relative to controls, indicating strong community restructuring. These three isolates, along with Pseudomonas sp. R8SCh-B2, Sphingomonas sp. RA62c-B5, Xanthomonas sp. R7SCh-B6, and Bacillus velezensis AMR25, successfully colonized the plant tissues, as evidenced by significant increases in genus-specific amplicon sequence variants, ASVs (up to 17,820-fold for Curtobacterium sp. ASV33). In contrast, Pantoea sp. P7SCH-B5, Erwinia sp. R8SCh-B3, and Frondihabitans sp. RA62c-B2 failed to colonize A. thaliana, despite being applied to the seeds, suggesting the existence of mechanisms restraining colonization. These findings demonstrate that only a subset of grapevine-derived endophytes can effectively colonize A. thaliana, and that successful colonization correlates with significant shifts in the native microbiome, even in the absence of overt phenotypic changes. This emphasizes the importance of strain-specific compatibility in plant–endophyte interactions. Thus, we report the first descriptions of several novel endophytes that colonized Arabidopsis plants and establish a convenient model to investigate plant–bacterial interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in Plant–Microbes Interactions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 10727 KB  
Article
First Detection of Sclerotinia nivalis on Carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) in Russia and Comparative Pathogenicity of Sclerotinia Isolates on Carrot
by Viktoriya V. Medvedeva, Rashit I. Tarakanov, Peter V. Evseev, Evgenii S. Mazurin, Svetlana I. Chebanenko, Olga O. Beloshapkina, Fevzi S.-U. Dzhalilov and Sokrat G. Monakhos
Plants 2025, 14(22), 3487; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223487 - 15 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1702
Abstract
White mold of carrot is mainly caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, while Sclerotinia nivalis is rarely reported. This study provides the first molecular confirmation of S. nivalis on carrot in Russia, expanding knowledge of its global distribution. rDNA-ITS sequencing (100% identity with reference [...] Read more.
White mold of carrot is mainly caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, while Sclerotinia nivalis is rarely reported. This study provides the first molecular confirmation of S. nivalis on carrot in Russia, expanding knowledge of its global distribution. rDNA-ITS sequencing (100% identity with reference strains) and phylogenetic analyses confirmed the isolate as S. nivalis. The growth, sclerotia formation, temperature response, pathogenicity, and fungicide sensitivity of four Sclerotinia strains (S. sclerotiorum from carrot, rapeseed, and soybean, and S. nivalis from carrot) were compared. S. nivalis showed slower growth, smaller but more numerous sclerotia (2–5 mm), and an optimal temperature of 15 °C, lower than S. sclerotiorum (25 °C). The soybean strain S. sclerotiorum SC382 was the most aggressive, causing 62% necrosis of carrot leaves and complete root decay within 9 days, while S. nivalis and the carrot isolates showed moderate aggressiveness. The S. nivalis SM8 strain was four times less sensitive to fluazinam (EC50 = 0.0107 µg/mL) than S. sclerotiorum, whereas sensitivity to boscalid and pyraclostrobin varied. These findings confirm S. nivalis as a new causal agent of carrot white mold in Russia and demonstrate the potential of Sclerotinia strains from soybean and rapeseed to infect carrot, emphasizing the need for species-level monitoring and adapted control strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in Plant–Microbes Interactions)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop