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Review
. 2022 Mar 26;25(4):104168.
doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104168. eCollection 2022 Apr 15.

Ensuring future food security and resource sustainability: insights into the rhizosphere

Liyang Wang  1 , Zed Rengel  2   3 , Kai Zhang  1 , Kemo Jin  1 , Yang Lyu  1 , Lin Zhang  1 , Lingyun Cheng  1 , Fusuo Zhang  1 , Jianbo Shen  1
Affiliations
Review

Ensuring future food security and resource sustainability: insights into the rhizosphere

Liyang Wang et al. iScience. .

Abstract

Feeding the world's growing population requires continuously increasing crop yields with less fertilizers and agrochemicals on limited land. Focusing on plant belowground traits, especially root-soil-microbe interactions, holds a great promise for overcoming this challenge. The belowground root-soil-microbe interactions are complex and involve a range of physical, chemical, and biological processes that influence nutrient-use efficiency, plant growth and health. Understanding, predicting, and manipulating these rhizosphere processes will enable us to harness the relevant interactions to improve plant productivity and nutrient-use efficiency. Here, we review the recent progress and challenges in root-soil-microbe interactions. We also highlight how root-soil-microbe interactions could be manipulated to ensure food security and resource sustainability in a changing global climate, with an emphasis on reducing our dependence on fertilizers and agrochemicals.

Keywords: agricultural science; agricultural soil science; applied microbiology; biological sciences; botany; earth sciences; environmental science; microbiology; plant biology; plants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Root-dominated changes in the physical properties of rhizosphere soil Root activity causes changes in the soil aeration, texture and moisture. The release of mucilage and exudates from the roots contributes to forming continuity of soil solution film around soil particles, and nutrients can move in that water film. Table lists the properties of rhizosphere soil (in comparison with bulk soil).DS, drying soil; WS, wet soil.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Rhizosphere biochemical (left) and microbial (right) processes influenced by roots Rhizosphere chemical processes mainly include root absorption of nutrient ions leading to rhizosphere nutrient depletion (when nutrient uptake exceeds supply from soil); this process is aided by (1) root release of protons (acidifying the rhizosphere soil) and (2) organic acid (OA) anions (carboxylates) solubilizing sparingly soluble nutrient complexes and improving nutrient availability; and (3) root release of enzymes to hydrolyze organic compounds. Rhizosphere microbial processes include root interactions with (1) AMF, (2) N2-fixing bacteria, (3) PGPR, and (4) the structure and activity of the core soil microbiome.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Spatial distribution patterns of root exudates and microorganisms in the rhizosphere (A) the number of rhizosphere microorganisms increases from the root tip to the maturation zone (blue line); in contrast, the concentration of root exudates (especially mucilage) is maximal close to the root tip (red line). Adapted from Marschner (2012), copyright (2012), with permission from Elsevier. (B) the diversity of rhizosphere microbial community is far lower than that of bulk soil, but the abundance of specific microbial taxa is higher in the rhizosphere than bulk soil. (C) endophytic space, rhizoplane and rhizosphere are populated by different microbial taxa: (a) endophytes; (b) rhizoplane microbiota; (c) microorganisms that feed on root exudates or the metabolites of rhizoplane microbiota; (d) microorganisms that use secondary metabolites of rhizosphere microbiota; (e) microorganisms that cannot live in the rhizosphere. The curves represent the relative abundance of microorganisms. Adapted from Bazin et al. (1990), copyright (1990), with permission from John Wiley & Son.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Holistic rhizosphere management strategies and approaches Strategies and approaches for rhizosphere management were proposed through the four levels of plant, soil, root-root interactions, and root-microbe interactions. The ultimate goal is to maximize plant biological potential and achieve efficient nutrient utilization, resource sustainability and food security by holistically integrating aboveground and belowground plant environments.
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