Plant Microbe Interactions

Plants are affected by microbes that are ubiquitous in the environment and colonize plant tissues both externally and internally. In soils, microbes facilitate the nitrogen cycle and liberate nutrients that are then made available for absorption by plant roots. In soils, certain microbes may produce metabolites or colonize potential plant pathogens, resulting in reduced virulence of pathogens to plants. In colonizing plants, microbes may incite diseases that result in tissue damage or mortality. Understanding the various mechanisms used by microbes in the etiology or modulation of disease is important, and within the scope of this section. Microbes are also able to colonize plant tissues without any expression of disease. These microbes may be endophytes, inhabiting the interior tissues of plants, or they may be epiphytes, colonizing only surfaces of plants. Nonpathogenic or symbiotic microbes in plant tissues interact with plants in unknown ways during development, affecting how plants grow, frequently resulting in greater development with microbes present in tissues than where microbes are absent. Microbes that internally colonize plants also frequently result in increased biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in host plants, again by uncertain mechanisms. There are indications that certain microbes shuttle nutrients between soils and plant roots, and the mechanisms by which this occurs are relevant to this section. Further, any research or review articles that address the ecological or physiological interactions between microbes and plants or algae are topics relevant to this section of MDPI Microorganisms. The Editorial Board will review all manuscripts submitted for publication in this section. However, articles that seem to be outside the scope of the subject matter listed here may be referred to another section of Microorganisms.