Exploring Biochar Impacts Through Omics Sciences: Enhancing Rhizobiome Understanding

Abstract Harnessing the potential of biochar in the rhizosphere to enhance plant health, growth and soil fertility is a promising avenue in agriculture. However, conventional research falls short in elucidating the underlying mechanisms of biochar’s actions. Hence, the advent of multi-omics technologies becomes imperative in unravelling the multifaceted interplay among biochar, plants, and microbes within the dynamic rhizosphere. Metagenomics sheds light on microbial population dynamics following biochar application, while metatranscriptomics unveils gene expression and pathway regulation within microbial communities, offering insights into their metabolic intricacies. At the same time, metaproteomics and metametabolomics delve into protein products and metabolic profiles within the rhizobiome, respectively. Understanding the interactions of biochar with the rhizobiome holds promise in constructing predictive models and developing novel strategies to nurture soil health. This review focuses on using metaomics approaches to enhance biochar integration in agriculture, highlighting existing challenges in their application and emphasizing the need to overcome these barriers to improve soil fertility and microbial ecology and contribute to soil remediation.