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Review
. 2025 Jul 10;16(1):6364.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61779-x.

Blueprints for sustainable plant production through the utilization of crop wild relatives and their microbiomes

Muhammad Waqas  1   2 , Susan R McCouch  3 , Davide Francioli  4 , Susannah G Tringe  5 , Daniele Manzella  6 , Colin K Khoury  7 , Loren H Rieseberg  8 , Hannes Dempewolf  9   10 , Peter Langridge  11   12 , Christoph-Martin Geilfus  13
Affiliations
Review

Blueprints for sustainable plant production through the utilization of crop wild relatives and their microbiomes

Muhammad Waqas et al. Nat Commun. .

Abstract

Conserving crop wild relatives (CWR) in their natural environments, together with the complex communities of microorganisms that live with them, could lay the foundation to unlock novel mechanisms for crop resilience and new strategies for achieving food security.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. In situ crop wild relatives (CWR) are suggested to play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity by regulating diverse ecosystems and geochemical cycles.
a Managed agricultural ecosystems (e.g., pure stand of wheat) exhibit lower biodiversity, fewer ecological interactions, and a weak metabolic circular economy (MCE), where nutrient and energy flow cycles from root to shoot, into the environment, and back again are less efficient. b In contrast, in situ cultivation of CWR in nature-near ecosystems supports a rich diversity of microbes and variety of life-forms, including microfauna with stronger MCE and ecological interactions. Created with BioRender.com.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Benefits of in situ conservation initiatives for crop wild relatives (CWR) and their microbiomes.
The small circles in various colors on the world map indicate possible locations of the centers of origin of major grain, fruit, and vegetable crops, and where their CWR persist in situ. Created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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MeSH terms