Toward understanding microbiota homeostasis in the plant kingdom

Abstract

A diverse community of microorganisms inhabits various parts of a plant. Recent findings indicate that perturbations to the normal microbiota can be associated with positive and negative effects on plant health. In this review, we discuss these findings in the context of understanding how microbiota homeostasis is regulated in plants for promoting health and/or for preventing dysbiosis.

Fig 1. Host control of microbiota homeostasis in plants.

Microbiota eubiosis represents a normal range of microbiota abundance and composition in healthy plants grown under optimal conditions. If eubiosis is disrupted, either by host mutations, abiotic stress, or infections, or a combination thereof, homeostasis can shift toward a dysbiotic state associated with negative impacts on plant health or toward a meliorbiotic state associated with positive impacts on plant health. Examples of host factors that contribute to microbiota homeostasis in the phyllosphere (green) and rhizosphere (brown) are depicted in circles below. Not all known factors are depicted. CAD1, constitutively activated cell death 1; JA, jasmonic acid; MIN7, HOPM1-interactor 7; MYB72, MYB domain protein 72; PRRs, pattern recognition receptors; PSR, phosphate starvation response; SA, salicylic acid. Created with Biorender.