New research from Northern Arizona University reveals that plants can shape the communities of microbes living around their roots-selecting beneficial ones and limiting harmful species-to adapt and survive in harsh conditions. This adaptive process, termed "functional team selection," offers insights into ecosystem resilience and opens pathways for sustainable agricultural practices.
The study, published in The ISME Journal, was co-authored by Regents' Professor Nancy Collins Johnson of NAU's School of Earth and Sustainability and Professor Cesar Marin of Universidad Santo Tomas in Chile. It explores how plants and their root-associated microbiomes form cooperative alliances that help them access nutrients, water, and resist disease.
Microbiomes-complex ecosystems of fungi, bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms-are vital for plant health. While commercial efforts to replicate these beneficial communities have often fallen short, the researchers propose that functional team selection (FTS) may explain why naturally assembled partnerships are more effective.
According to Johnson, these microbial teams evolve under stress, where plants must rely on compatible microbial partners to meet their needs. "Functional teams are unlikely to evolve in benign environments with no stress and ample resources because they lack the selection pressure that is required to curate the composition of the microbiome," she explained. She noted that fertilizing natural ecosystems can disrupt this process by eliminating the need for microbial cooperation, diminishing benefits from organisms like mycorrhizal fungi.
Rooted in ecological and evolutionary principles, FTS incorporates the emerging Law of Increasing Functional Information, which links function and selection to system evolution. Though initially applied to plant-soil systems, the researchers believe the concept could inform management strategies across a wide array of microbial environments, including those relevant to human health.
Research Report:Functional team selection as a framework for local adaptation in plants and their belowground microbiomes
