Host microbe interaction in soil

Soil is a dynamic and complex environment, comprising of myriad of microbes which contribute towards maintaining soil health and promoting plant growth. The microbe-microbe or plant-microbe interactions happen in the soil which can be positive or negative. Positive interactions include mutualism, syntrophism, commensalism and proto-cooperation whereas negative interactions include predation, parasitism, competition and ammensalism. Majority of plant-microbe interactions occur in rhizosphere because of the high concentration of root exudates. Root exudates help to establish host and microbe communication. Root exudates contain flakes of root cells, mucilage, carbon compounds, amino acids, phenols etc. The primary step in establishing an interaction is recognition of the host cell by the microbe. Microbe recognizes host-signaling molecules like secondary metabolites, siderophores, etc. Additional mechanism includes transduction signaling, biofilm production and transference of molecules and genetic information. The interactions are prone to environmental factors like temperature, moisture, circadian clock and nutritional status of soil. To study the plant-microbe-environmental interaction, a mathematical expression called metabolic modeling is used. It supports stoichiometry analysis of metabolic reactions. Efficient agro-climatic ecosystem and bioremediation of pesticide polluted soil can be achieved by exploiting plant-host interactions for realizing agriculture sustainability.