Understanding and Utilising Soil Microbiomes for a More Sustainable Agriculture

Dr Kari E. Dunfield is a Professor and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Environmental Microbiology of Agro-ecosystems in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, Canada. Working at the intersection of microbiology, ecology, and soil science, her work investigates the microbial communities and microbial processes driving the global processes that help support life on Earth. She is the North American Representative for the UN-FAO Global Soil Partnership (Pillar 1). Dr Dunfield is currently the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Microbiology.Dr. Mamadou L. Fall is a research scientist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and associate Professor for Université de Sherbrooke. He is leading the virus epidemiology laboratory at the Science and Technology Branch of AAFC. Fall’s research ranges from host-virus interaction studies to applied field research focused on disease management in horticultural agroecosystem (ex. Grapevine, small fruits, etc.). He is currently a senior editor and an associate editor of the Plant Disease journal (APS) and the Canadian journal of plant pathology, respectively. Dr Paolo Nannipieri is Emeritus Professor at the University of Florence (Firenze), Italy. He has authored/co-authored around 250 publications and has edited eight books, including the 3rd edition of Modern Soil Microbiology. Dr Nannipieri is the Editor-in-Chief of Biology and Fertility of Soils and member of the Editorial Board of Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation. He has been the International Representative of the Italian Society of Soil Science at IUSS and president of the Italian Society of Agricultural Chemistry and of the Commission Soil Biology of the IUSS. Dr Ian Lidbury is a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield investigating plant-microbe interactions. He has a background in environmental nutrient cycling, microbial ecology and ecological interactions. His lab combines computational and wet-lab approaches to understand the functional role of key microbes in the environment, particularly those in agriculture. Joann K. Whalen is a James McGill Professor at McGill University and an Affiliate Professor with the African Genome Center at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Morocco. Her research focuses on soil fertility and soil ecology in agroecosystems. She has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications and supervised/co-supervised more than 60 students at the M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels. Dr. Whalen is currently a Chief Editor for Soil Biology and Biochemistry, a Subject Editor for Applied Energy and a Review Editor for PNAS Nexus. Dr Lucas William Mendes is an Assistant Professor on Ecogenomics and Environmental Sustainability at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of Sao Paulo (CENA-USP), in Piracicaba-SP, Brazil.

• Part 1 Advances in analysing soil microbiomes1.Advances in soil viromics in understanding viral diversity and function: Azza Larafa, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada/Université de Montréal, Canada and Mamadou L. Fall , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada;2.Advances in metaproteomics for analyzing soil microorganisms: Paolo Nannipieri, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), Italy; Jing Se, Zhejiang University, China; and Laura Giagnoni, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), Italy;Part 2 Bacteria and fungi in soil3.Emerging roles for soil Bacteroidetes in complex carbon and organic phosphorus cycling: Ian D. E. A. Lidbury, Lucy Rogers, Sophie R. M. Groenhof and Andrew Hitchcock, University of Sheffield, UK; and Lauren S. McKee, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden;4.Advances in understanding Actinobacteria in soil: Yuanyuan Bao, Xin Li and Ruirui Chen, Nanjing Forestry University, China; Youzhi Feng, Nanjing Forestry University, China and Chinese Academy of Sciences, China;5.Fungi: advances in understanding the role of root-associated fungi in soil: Nimalka Weerasuriya, University of Western Ontario, Canada and A & L Biologicals, Canada; Noor Saeed Cheema, Marianna Wallace and R. Greg Thorn, University of Western Ontario, Canada; and Saveetha Kandasamy, Soledad Saldias and George Lazarovits, A & L Biologicals, Canada;Part 3 Analysing structure and dynamics of soil microbiomes6.Advances in understanding microbial communities in the rhizosphere: R. Regmi, Qi Yang, and Vadakattu V. S. R. Gupta, CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia;7.Nematodes and their trophic interactions in the soil microbiome: Liliane Ruess, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany;8.Advances in understanding soil microbiomes in ecosystem functioning across trophic chains: Karoline Jetter, University of Ulm, Germany; and Patrick Schäfer, Justus Liebig University, Germany;Part 4 Soil microbiomes and ecosystem services9.Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in carbon cycling in soil: Alain F. Plante, University of Pennsylvania, USA; and Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA;10.Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in nutrient cycling: Tim Clough, Lincoln University, New Zealand;11.Advances in understanding and exploiting the role of soil microbiomes in protecting crops against pathogens and pests: Rekha Kandaswamy, Bhagyam Agri-Enclave Pvt. Ltd, India; Himani Datta, SGS North America Inc., USA; Niladri Chaudhry, Food Corporation of India, India; Anuradha Gautam, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; and Vasvi Chaudhry, University of Tübingen, Germany;12.Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in promoting crop resilient to drought stress: Zakaria M. Solaiman and Kadambot H. M. Siddique, The UWA Institute of Agriculture, and UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Australia;Part 5 Promoting soil microbiomes and their contribution to soil ecosystem services13.Understanding and optimizing soil physical properties to promote soil microbiomes: Wei Shi, North Carolina State University, USA;14.Assessing the impact of inorganic fertilisers on soil microbiomes: Joann K. Whalen, McGill University, Canada and Center for Sustainable Soil Sciences (C3S), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco; and Shamim Gul, McGill University, Canada and University of Balochistan, Pakistan;15.Understanding how land-use management affects soil microbiomes: Lucas William Mendes, Thierry Alexandre Pellegrinetti and Alexandre Pedrinho, Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Brazil; and Dennis Goss-Souza, Federal Institute of Paraná, Brazil;