Call for papers - Plant-growth promoting microorganisms

Guest Editors

Frederik Bak, PhD, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Luz Bashan, PhD, Bashan Institute of Science, USA
Gustavo Santoyo, PhD, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Mexico

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 30 June 2025

BMC Microbiology launches the collection Plant-growth promoting microorganisms. This collection invites submissions on microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) promoting plant growth, microbe-plant interactions, and their applications in sustainable agriculture to enhance plant growth and productivity, as well as soil health. Research mainly focusing on plants/crops and agricultural practices without a clear focus on microorganisms and/or microbe-plant interactions will not be considered.

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 2: Zero Hunger.

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Meet the Guest Editors

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Frederik Bak, PhD, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Dr Bak is a soil microbial ecologist at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where he has served as an assistant professor since 2023. His research primarily focuses on plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere and spermosphere. Currently, he is investigating nitrogen fixation in the rhizosphere, microbial interactions using synthetic communities, phosphorus cycling, and bacterial traits essential for root colonization. During his PhD studies, completed in 2019 at the University of Copenhagen, Dr Bak researched subsurface microbial communities at the Geological Survey of Greenland and Denmark. In 2024, he joined the editorial board of BMC Microbiology.

Luz Bashan, PhD, Bashan Institute of Science, USA

Dr Bashan has a doctorate in soil microbiology from the University of Laval, Quebec, Canada, and a postdoctoral fellowship from the University of Arizona. From 2000 to 2022, she was a Senior Researcher and leader of the Environmental Microbiology Group at the Center for Biological Research of the Northwest (CIBNOR) in Mexico. She is the Director of the Bashan Institute of Science in Alabama, USA, and an Affiliate Faculty with the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, at Auburn University, Alabama. Her main fields of research are the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria for biotechnological applications the restoration of degraded soils, and the development of bacterial inoculants.

Gustavo Santoyo, PhD, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Mexico

Dr Santoyo is a Professor of Agrogenomics at Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Mexico. He holds bachelor's degrees in Biology and Psychology, as well as a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He completed postdoctoral research at the NIH in the USA and a sabbatical at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. His research centers on plant-soil-microbe interactions and agrogenomics. Dr Santoyo has published over 160 papers, accumulating more than 8,000 citations, and has an h-index of 42. He has supervised more than 40 theses and is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, holding a level III distinction in SNII-CONAHCYT-Mexico.

About the Collection

Plant-growth promoting microorganisms (PGPM), including bacteria and fungi, play a critical role in enhancing plant health, stress tolerance, and productivity. These microorganisms inhabit different plant compartments (i.e. rhizosphere, spermosphere, phyllosphere and endosphere) where they can enhance a number of processes, such as nutrient uptake and use efficiency, root development, biosynthesis of plant defensive biomolecules, removal of heavy metals from the soil, plant immunity and systemic resistance against pathogens, and stress tolerance. However, a deeper understanding of how PGPM function, and microbe-plant interactions are established and regulated, is essential for leveraging their potential in modern sustainable agricultural practices.

Although the importance of plant-growth promoting microbial communities is acknowledged, gaining a greater knowledge on PGPM and microbe-plant interactions will foster sustainable agricultural practices that address challenges such as climate change, soil degradation, and global food security. Therefore, in support of United Nations’ SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), BMC Microbiology launches the collection, Plant-growth promoting microorganisms. This collection invites submissions on PGPM (bacteria and fungi), microbe-plant interactions and PGPM applications in sustainable agriculture to enhance plant growth and productivity, as well as soil health. Research mainly focusing on plants/crops and agricultural practices without a clear focus on microorganisms and/or microbe-plant interactions will not be considered. We invite researchers and experts in the field to submit research articles covering a broad range of topics including, but not limited to:

Role and impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant-growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) in plant growth, productivity, health and stress tolerance
Modes of action (or mechanisms) of PGPM in the rhizosphere, spermosphere, phyllosphere and endosphere
Microbe-plant interactions: mechanisms, signaling and regulation
Plant-growth promoting bacterial endophytes
Plant immunity and systemic resistance induced by PGPM
PGPM-produced phytohormones: role, biosynthesis and impact on plant growth, health and stress resilience
Role and impact of bioinoculant and biostimulant applications on plant growth, health and stress resilience
Impact of PGPM on soil health
PGPM inoculation methods

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Plant-growth promoting microorganisms" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.