Supporting crop yields under climate change by engineering innate soil microbiomes.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Microbiology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Climate change poses significant threats to global food security.
• Soil salinization is a major driver of agricultural land degradation, exacerbated by rising sea levels and decreased rainfall.
• This issue affects approximately 30% of agricultural land globally and is projected to impact 50% by 2050.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if innate agricultural soil microbiomes can be engineered to support crops under climate change conditions, specifically focusing on salinization.
• To determine if deliberate use of part-saline irrigation can adapt soil microbiomes to increased salinity levels.
• To assess the impact of engineered soil communities on crop yield under saline conditions.

Main Methods:

• Analyzing changes in soil microbial community structure using DNA sequencing.
• Measuring microbial functions and fitness through RNA analysis and labeled amino acid uptake.
• Correlating microbiome responses with crop establishment, nutrient cycling, energy management, and final crop yield data.

Main Results:

• Deliberate use of part-saline irrigation adapted soil microbiomes to increased salinities, as evidenced by changes in microbial community structure and function.
• While saline irrigation initially suppressed crop establishment in some instances, the adapted microbiomes correlated with protected crop yields in established plants.
• Inferences of increased microbial nutrient cycling and energy management were observed in adapted microbiomes.

Conclusions:

• Engineering innate soil microbiomes through low-level saline irrigation is a pragmatic and cost-effective intervention for enhancing crop resilience to climate change-induced salinization.
• This approach prepares soil microbiomes to tolerate elevated soil and irrigation salinities, thereby securing food systems and meeting sustainable food security requirements.
• Farmers can "teach" or "prepare" soil microbiomes to become more tolerant of salinity, offering a viable strategy for future agricultural challenges.