title: Perspectives and Challenges of Microbial Application for Crop Improvement.
abstract: Global population increases and climate change pose a challenge to worldwide crop production. There is a need to intensify agricultural production in a sustainable manner and to find solutions to combat abiotic stress, pathogens, and pests. Plants are associated with complex microbiomes, which have an ability to promote plant growth and stress tolerance, support plant nutrition, and antagonize plant pathogens. The integration of beneficial plant-microbe and microbiome interactions may represent a promising sustainable solution to improve agricultural production. The widespread commercial use of the plant beneficial microorganisms will require a number of issues addressed. Systems approach using microscale information technology for microbiome metabolic reconstruction has potential to advance the microbial reproducible application under natural conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, SLU Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Salme
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Timmusk
authors.affiliation: Nova West Technologies and Communications Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Behers
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, SLU Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muthoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, SLU Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muraya
authors.affiliation: SLU Holding AB Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anne-Charlotte
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Aronsson
keywords: biofertilizers; biopecticides; commercial application; plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR); systems biology