Microbial Inoculants: Silver Bullet or Microbial Jurassic Park?
The appeal of using microbial inoculants to mediate plant traits and productivity in managed ecosystems has increased over the past decade, because microbes represent an alternative to fertilizers, pesticides, and direct genetic modification of plants. Using microbes bypasses many societal and environmental concerns because microbial products are considered a more sustainable and benign technology. In our desire to harness the power of plant-microbial symbioses, are we ignoring the possibility of precipitating microbial invasions, potentially setting ourselves up for a microbial Jurassic Park? Here, we outline potential negative consequences of microbial invasions and describe a set of practices (Testing, Regulation, Engineering, and Eradication, TREE) based on the four stages of invasion to prevent microbial inoculants from becoming invasive. We aim to stimulate discussion about best practices to proactively prevent microbial invasions.
['Jack|Chandra N|CN|', 'Petipas|Renee H|RH|', 'Cheeke|Tanya E|TE|', 'Rowland|Jennifer L|JL|', 'Friesen|Maren L|ML|']
D059827:Agricultural Inoculants D001419:Bacteria D017753:Ecosystem D005308:Fertilizers D058865:Introduced Species D010944:Plants D013559:Symbiosis D014481:United States
microbial invasion agricultural sustainability biostimulant microbiome engineering mycorrhizal fungi rhizobia