Can microbiome adaptations protect crops from pests and climate change?

he knows that each of his perfectly risen loaves is, in large part, the result of a living community of yeast and bacteria in the sourdough starter.Every time he reserves some successful starter to add to a future batch, he is selecting for a community of microbes that is well suited to making good bread.So, when Hockett came across a 2015 review paper suggesting that microbial communities might be adapted over time to improve crops, the concept immediately resonated with him ( 1 ) and sent his research in a new direction that may one day lead to a valuable new tool for supporting crops.For millennia, growers have improved agriculture by directing the evolution of crops themselves-only carrying on seeds from plants that survived disease, grew the fastest, or made the largest fruits.But as climate change rapidly alters growing conditions and the spread of disease, it's becoming more difficult for the slow work of these conventional breeding approaches to keep up.Using genetic engineering to modify crops can help, but it, too, is time-intensive because researchers must first identify the beneficial genes, notes Hockett.And even after a resistance gene is introduced into new cultivars, pathogens can evolve to dodge its effects."Breeding will still have its place in the toolbox," Hockett says.But, he adds, "the microbiome approach will likely be far quicker."Already, these approaches are showing promise as a way to nurture better, more resilient crops.But researchers are struggling to devise the microbial combinations that will have real, lasting effects.Button mushrooms are among the crops that researchers are trying to make more resilient and productive by tailoring their microbiomes.