MicroTRIAS · Learning from nature: Microbiome training towards improving agricultural sustainability

Learning from nature: Microbiome training towards improving agricultural sustainability

Climate change and environmental degradation increasingly threaten agricultural productivity across Europe, particularly in Mediterranean regions where elevated temperatures, drought, salinity are intensifying together with increased pressure of pathogens. The microTRIAS project was conceived in response to the urgent need for sustainable strategies that improve crop resilience to abiotic stress while reducing dependence on chemical inputs. Conventional microbial inoculants, often based on one or few strains, rarely perform as expected in the field because they fail to establish and interact effectively within native soil microbiomes. This inefficiency underscores the need to understand and manipulate microbial communities as functional wholes rather than as isolated agents. microTRIAS aimed to pioneer and provide a proof of concept of an approach of Microbiome Training of soil microbiomes aiming to Increase their plant-beneficial potential. Instead of introducing nonresident inoculants, the project sought to “train” native microbiomes by selectively enriching microbial consortia capable of promoting plant growth, nutrient uptake, and tolerance to salinity and drought stress. The approach was designed around two model crops, Triticum aestivum (wheat) and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), both economically relevant and highly affected by environmental stressors in southern Europe. The overarching objectives were to: 1. Deliver a proof of concept for microbiome functional training as a scalable, sustainable agricultural biotechnology. 2. Develop and optimize tools for microbial community training directed toward beneficial functions. 3. Produce Trained Microbial Communities (TMCs) exhibiting improved functional traits in vitro and in planta. 4. Characterize the mechanisms underpinning TMC performance using multi-omics approaches. Within the broader political and strategic context of the European Green Deal and the “Farm to Fork” strategy, microTRIAS contributes to the transition toward climate-resilient agriculture and reduced agrochemical dependence. The expected long-term impact lies in enabling circular, microbiome-based crop management systems that harness the potential of native microbiomes rather than adding new elements or replacing it.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union