Engineering synthetic microbial communities to restructure the phytobiome for plant health and productivity.

Global agriculture stands at a critical juncture, facing the dual challenge of sustaining food production for a rapidly growing population while mitigating the environmental consequences of intensive farming. The overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has accelerated soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and ecological imbalances, threatening long-term viability. Synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) have emerged as a promising approach to reshape plant-microbe interactions, offering a precise, scalable, and ecologically sustainable alternative to conventional agrochemicals.

Expanding the functional landscape of microbial entomopathogens in agriculture beyond pest management.

Microbial entomopathogens that include fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes have long been valued for their role in biological control of insect pests. However, recent research highlights their expanded applications beyond pest management. Entomopathogenic fungi such as Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium spp.