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Plant-microbiome interactions in relation to food security and safety

Plant-microbiome interactions in relation to food security and safetyThis thematic series will publish in 
CABI Agriculture and Bioscience.

CABI Agriculture and Bioscience


Guest Edited by: Fiona Brennan1, Lise Korsten2, Joanna Falcão Salles3, Jose Macia Vicente4, Matthew Ryan5, Adam Schikora6 & Leo van Overbeek4
1 Teagasc (Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority), Ireland; 2 University of Pretoria, South Africa; 3 University of Groningen, The Netherlands; 4 Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands; 5 CABI, UK; 6 Julius Kühn Institute - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Germany

Submission deadline: 31 December 2023

Aims and scope: Microorganisms living in close association with plants play important roles in plant growth, health and productivity. These transit or resident microorganisms constitute the Microbiome, which can be considered as a plants’ ancillary genome because of the additional functions secured by the versatility of microbial genomes present on the plant surface or inside plants. Despite the rapid increase in knowledge gained, the roles microbiomes are expected to play in food security and safety, harnessing their full potential for crop production, is still limited by important knowledge gaps. For instance, the exact modes of action of plant-associated microorganisms are often not emphasized, clear or even utterly unknown. Similarly, the processes leading to the invasion and colonization of arable plants by microorganisms foreign to agroecosystems are not well understood. Studies dealing with the roles that plant microbiomes play in crop productivity, their interactions with invading plant- or human-threatening microorganisms, or as sources of beneficial properties to enhance sustainable agriculture will fit in the scope of this special issue.

Manuscripts considered: Submissions (experimental research, reviews, opinion papers) that are scientifically sound and containing novel up-to-date information on microbial interactions with food crop plants are encouraged. Topics relevant for the issue, but not limited to, are:

  • The impact of microbial treatments on plant and soil microbiome composition and functioning
  • Microbial dispersal between plants and other ecosystems related to arable production
  • Plasticity of plant microbiomes under different agricultural management practices and crop production systems
  • Microbiome-based strategies to sustainable agriculture
  • Utilizing microbiome research to increase the production of feed and fiber
  • Relationship between plant microbiome composition and aspects related to human health in food production


Submit your manuscript now


Submission Instructions: Prior to submission, please ensure you have carefully read the submission guidelines for the journal. To ensure that you submit to the correct article collection, please select 'Plant-microbiome interactions in relation to food security and safety' in the drop-down menu upon submission; in addition, indicate within your cover letter that you wish for your manuscript to be considered within this thematic series. 

All submissions will undergo rigorous peer review and accepted articles will be published within the journal as a collection. 


Articles published in this collection:

  1. Plants can perceive bacterial molecules such as the quorum sensing signals N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHL), thus modifying their fitness in response to environmental factors. Even though the benefits conferred b...

    Authors: Yongming Duan, Min Han, Maja Grimm and Adam Schikora
    Citation: CABI Agriculture and Bioscience 2024 5:6
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Morogo is an African indigenous term used for leafy green vegetables harvested in the wild or cultivated in small-scale farms and consumed by the local populations of the region. Small-scale farmers have gaine...

    Authors: D. M. Kgoale, J. K. Gokul, S. Duvenage, E. M. Du Plessis and L. Korsten
    Citation: CABI Agriculture and Bioscience 2023 4:36
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Antibiotic resistance genes will spread via soil fertilized with animal manure to food products. Especially plants whose harvested products can be consumed freshly are of concern. The aim of this study was to ...

    Authors: Leo van Overbeek, Björn Berendsen, Stefan Aanstoot, Alex Bossers, Els Nijhuis, Lina Russ and Beatriz Andreo Jimenez
    Citation: CABI Agriculture and Bioscience 2023 4:32
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Plant–soil feedback (PSF) has gained increasing interest in agricultural systems. An important question is whether PSF differs between different cropping systems. Few attempts have yet been made to identify th...

    Authors: Mengshuai Liu, Jose G. Maciá-Vicente, Jasper van Ruijven, Wopke van der Werf, Zhenling Cui, Fusuo Zhang, Chunxu Song and Liesje Mommer
    Citation: CABI Agriculture and Bioscience 2023 4:5
    Content type: Research Published on: