Plant health in the era of global changes, holobiont biology, and microbiome-based solutions

Abstract

Agriculture faces unprecedented challenges due to climate change, increasing food demand, and resource scarcity, which needs sustainable and innovative solutions. This review explores the emerging paradigm of holobiont biology (host and its microbiome as biological unit) in the context of emerging plant health challenges driven by global changes. We highlight three critical challenges: the rise of complex plant syndromes, the emergence and re-emergence of plant diseases, and the consequences of dysbiotic plant microbiomes. We discuss how microbiome-based strategies can enhance plant resilience, reduce reliance on agrochemicals, and foster sustainable agriculture. Integrating these strategies with advanced frameworks, such as holo-omics and machine learning, opens avenues for microbiome-based solutions to address agricultural challenges in the era of global changes, ensuring resilient crop systems and planetary health.

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Next Generation EU-Italian NRRP, Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.5, call for the creation and strengthening of ‘Innovation Ecosystems,’ building ‘Territorial R&D Leaders’ (Directorial Decree n. 2021/3277)-project Tech4You - Technologies for climate change adaptation and quality of life improvement, n. ECS0000009. AM was supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through the PRIN 2022 PNRR program (project P2022KY74N, financed by the European Union-NextGenerationEU). This work reflects only the authors’ views and opinions, neither the Ministry for University and Research nor the European Commission can be considered responsible for them.

Author contributions

Edda Francomano, Antonino Malacrinò, Leonardo Schena (Conceptualization), Edda Francomano, Meriem Miyassa Aci, Antonino Malacrinò (Writing-original draft), all co-authors (Writing-review and editing). All co-authors read and approved the final manuscript

Conflicts of interest statement

All authors declare no financial or non-financial competing interests.

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