Molecular Pathogens, 2025, Vol.16, No.5, 217-225 http://microbescipublisher.com/index.php/mp 217 Case Study Open Access Interaction Between Wheat Roots and Microorganisms Pingping Yang, Jiong Fu Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding author: jiong.fu@hitar.org Molecular Pathogens, 2025, Vol.16, No.5 doi: 10.5376/mp.2025.16.0022 Received: 11 Aug., 2025 Accepted: 13 Sep., 2025 Published: 20 Sep., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Yang and Fu, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Yang P.P., and Fu J., 2025, Interaction between wheat roots and microorganisms, Molecular Pathogens, 16(5): 217-225 (doi: 10.5376/mp.2025.16.0022) Abstract The wheat rhizosphere microbial community forms a complex interaction with the root system, which has an important impact on plant nutrient absorption, growth and development, and stress resistance. Root exudates serve as chemical bridges between wheat and soil microorganisms, driving processes such as beneficial symbiosis and disease occurrence. This study systematically reviewed the structural and functional characteristics of wheat roots, the composition and ecological functions of rhizosphere microbial communities, the signal communication mechanism between roots and microorganisms, and the interaction between growth-promoting bacteria and pathogenic bacteria respectively with wheat roots. It also conducted an in-depth analysis of the interaction mechanism between wheat and Bacillus based on cases. On this basis, we discussed how soil environment and agricultural management measures regulate wheat-microbe interactions, and finally looked forward to future research directions on using wheat rhizosphere microorganisms to promote sustainable crop production. Keywords Wheat; Rhizosphere microorganisms; Root exudates; Growth-promoting bacteria; Pathogenic bacteria; Interaction mechanism 1 Introduction Wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) is one of the most important food crops in the world and plays a decisive role in ensuring human food security. However, in order to achieve high yield goals, modern agriculture has long relied on large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, resulting in increased pressure on the soil environment, reduced fertilizer utilization, and prominent disease problems. Plant roots are the bridge connecting soil and plants. As the most active area of interaction between roots and microorganisms, the wheat rhizosphere nurtures a rich microbial community. A large number of studies have shown that rhizosphere microorganisms play a key role in promoting wheat nutrient absorption, enhancing plant stress resistance, and suppressing soil-borne diseases (Zheng et al., 2021; Parunandi et al., 2023). Therefore, in-depth study of the interaction mechanism between wheat roots and microorganisms is of great significance for improving crop yields and reducing chemical inputs. In recent years, with the development of high-throughput sequencing and metagenomics, people have a deeper understanding of the structure and function of the crop rhizosphere microbiome. Previous studies have found that there are significant differences in the rhizosphere microbial communities of different wheat varieties. The domestication and breeding processes may lead to changes in the diversity and function of rhizosphere microorganisms, and the ability of some modern high-yielding varieties to enrich beneficial microorganisms has decreased (Dilla-Ermita et al., 2021; Zheng et al., 2021). At the same time, research on wheat rhizosphere interactions also faces many challenges: the rhizosphere environment is complex and changeable, microbial functional redundancy is high, and the effects of a single strain are often difficult to perform stably under field conditions. This study will systematically elaborate on the structural and functional characteristics of wheat roots, the composition and ecological functions of rhizosphere microbial communities, the signal communication mechanism between roots and microorganisms, the interaction between growth-promoting bacteria and pathogenic bacteria, and the impact of environmental and management factors. At the end, prospects for future research are proposed.
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