Microbial communities are essential for plant growth and protection. However, scientists have struggled to harness the benefits of soil microbiomes for improving agroecosystem health. Recently, it has been suggested the natural mechanisms plants employ to manage relationships with microbes (i.e. fight pathogens, promote mutualisms) can be used to generate whole microbial communities with beneficial or protective properties that enhance key plant traits (e.g. growth, yield, stress tolerance). This phenomenon, known as host-guided selection, has been investigated in model species but has yet to be explored in crop plants. In this talk I present work developing a system to selectively engineer tomato rhizosphere microbiomes that increase resistance to insect pests. I will discuss recent findings and what is needed to develop guidelines for successful host-guided selection in diverse crops and agroecosystems.
