Study: Scientists engineer plant microbiome to drastically reduce pesticide use

An international team of researchers claims they have for the first time engineered the “microbiome” of a plant. 

This was done to boost the prevalence of good bacteria that protect the plant from disease with hopes of reducing the need for environmentally destructive and deadly pesticides.

The research published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday focused on plant microbiomes the variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms that live alongside plants. People are growing more aware about the “gut microbiome” the microorganisms that live in our digestive systems. 

These microorganisms influence our metabolism, our immune system and many other parts of our life.

Just like how our microbiome affects us, scientists have been investigating how plant’s microbiomes affect their health and how vulnerable they are to diseases, according to the University of Southampton.

Researchers believe that this breakthrough could help reduce humans’ reliance on pesticides that are harmful to the environment. 

The study focused on rice crops but the framework created by the researchers might also be useful with other plants as well.

The researchers exposed this engineered plant to a bacteria that is known to cause a disease known as blight in rice crops. The engineered plants turned out to be more resistant to the bacteria than the wild form.