Phytobiome metabolism: beneficial soil microbes steer crop plants' secondary metabolism

Crops are negatively affected by abiotic and biotic stresses, however, plant-microbe cooperation allows prompt buffering of these environmental changes. Microorganisms exhibit an extensive metabolic capability to assist plants in reducing these burdens. Interestingly, beneficial microbes may also trigger, at the host side, a sequence of events from signal perception to metabolic responses leading to stress tolerance or protection against biotic threats. Although plants are well known for their vast chemical diversity, plant-microbial interactions often stimulate the production of a rich and different repertoire of metabolites in plants. The targeted microbial-plant interactions reprogramming plant metabolism represent potential means to foster various pest managements. However, the molecular mechanisms of microbial modulation of plant metabolic plasticity are still poorly understood. Here, we review an increasing amount of reports providing evidence for alterations to plant metabolism caused by beneficial microbial colonization. In addition, we highlight the vital importance of these metabolic reprograms for plants under stress erratic conditions. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.