Most eukaryotes develop close interactions with microorganisms that are essential for their performance and survival. Thus, eukaryotes and prokaryotes in nature can be considered as meta-organisms or holobionts. Consequently, microorganisms that colonize different plant compartments contain the plant’s second genome. In this respect, many studies in the last decades have shown that plant-microbe interactions are not only crucial for better understanding plant growth and health, but also for sustainable crop production in a changing world. This mini-review acting as editorial presents retrospectives and future perspectives for plant microbiome studies as well as information gaps in this emerging research field. In addition, the contribution of this research topic to the solution of various issues is discussed.

Lettuce belongs to the most commonly raw eaten food worldwide and its microbiome plays an important role for both human and plant health. Yet, little is known about the impact of potentially occurring pathogens and beneficial inoculants of the indigenous microorganisms associated with lettuce. To address this question we studied the impact of the phytopathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani and the biological control agent Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 on the indigenous rhizosphere and phyllosphere community of greenhouse-grown lettuce at two plant stages. The rhizosphere and phyllosphere gammaproteobacterial microbiomes of lettuce plants showed clear differences in their overall and core microbiome composition as well as in corresponding diversity indices. The rhizosphere was dominated by Xanthomonadaceae (48%) and Pseudomonadaceae (37%) with Rhodanobacter, Pseudoxanthomonas, Dokdonella, Luteimonas, Steroidobacter, Thermomonas as core inhabitants, while the dominating taxa associated to phyllosphere were Pseudomonadaceae (54%), Moraxellaceae (16%) and Enterobacteriaceae (25%) with Alkanindiges, Pantoea and a group of Enterobacteriaceae unclassified at genus level. The preferential occurrence of enterics in the phyllosphere was the most significant difference between both habitats. Additional enhancement of enterics on the phyllosphere was observed in bottom rot diseased lettuce plants, while Acinetobacter and Alkanindiges were identified as indicators of healthy plants. Interestingly, the microbial diversity was enhanced by treatment with both the pathogen, and the co-inoculated biological control agent. The highest impact and bacterial diversity was found by Rhizoctonia inoculation, but FZB42 lowered the impact of Rhizoctonia on the microbiome. This study shows that the indigenous microbiome shifts as a consequence to pathogen attack but FZB42 can compensate these effects, which supports their role as biocontrol agent and suggests a novel mode of action.

The complex and enormous diversity of microorganisms associated with plant roots is important for plant health and growth and is shaped by numerous factors. This study aimed to unravel the effects of the soil type on bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of field-grown lettuce. We used an experimental plot system with three different soil types that were stored at the same site for 10 years under the same agricultural management to reveal differences directly linked to the soil type and not influenced by other factors such as climate or cropping history. Bulk soil and rhizosphere samples were collected 3 and 7 weeks after planting. The analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from total community DNA by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and pyrosequencing revealed soil type dependent differences in the bacterial community structure of the bulk soils and the corresponding rhizospheres. The rhizosphere effect differed depending on the soil type and the plant growth developmental stage. Despite the soil type dependent differences in the bacterial community composition several genera such as Sphingomonas, Rhizobium, Pseudomonas, and Variovorax were significantly increased in the rhizosphere of lettuce grown in all three soils. The number of rhizosphere responders was highest 3 weeks after planting. Interestingly, in the soil with the highest numbers of responders the highest shoot dry weights were observed. Heatmap analysis revealed that many dominant operational taxonomic units were shared among rhizosphere samples of lettuce grown in diluvial sand, alluvial loam, and loess loam and that only a subset was increased in relative abundance in the rhizosphere compared to the corresponding bulk soil. The findings of the study provide insights into the effect of soil types on the rhizosphere microbiome of lettuce.