Manipulating the soil microbiome for improved nitrogen management
Hang-Wei Hu A and Ji-Zheng He B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9035 7639, Email: hang-wei.hu@unimelb.edu.au
B School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9035 8890, Email: jizheng.he@unimelb.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 39(1) 24-27 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA18007
Published: 21 February 2018
Abstract
The soil microbiome, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, and other microbial eukaryotes, has crucial roles in the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen (N), the maintenance of soil fertility, and the plant N use efficiency (NUE) in agro-ecosystems1. Recent advances in omics-based technologies (e.g. metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metaproteomics) have expanded our understanding of the soil microbiome and their controls on specific N-cycling processes1–3. Given the growing N-based fertiliser consumption and continuous land degradation, innovative technologies are needed to manipulate the soil microbiome to improve crop NUE, reduce N losses and increase N reservation in soil. This article discusses the research directions to facilitate the development of microbiome-manipulating technologies for sustainable management of N transformation processes.
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