Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Isolation and Analysis of Microbial Communities in Soil, Rhizosphere, and Roots in Perennial Grass Experiments
Published on: July 24, 2018
Unravelling rhizosphere-microbial interactions: opportunities and limitations
Brajesh K Singh1, Peter Millard, Andrew S Whiteley
1Environmental Sciences, Macaulay Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, UK. b.singh@macaulay.ac.uk
Abstract:
The rhizosphere is a biologically active zone of the soil around plant roots that contains soil-borne microbes including bacteria and fungi. Plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere can be beneficial to the plant, the microbes or to neither of them. One of the major difficulties that plant biologists and microbiologists face when studying these interactions is that many groups of microbes that inhabit this zone are not cultivable in the laboratory. Recent developments in molecular biology methods are shedding some light on rhizospheric microbial diversity. This review discusses recent findings and future challenges in the study of plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere.
Related Concept Videos
The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition
Environmental Applications of Microorganisms
Microbial Interactions: Mutualism
Microbial Interactions: Cooperation
Microbe-Plant Interactions
Soil Microbial Ecology

