Overlooked: The role of bacterial viruses in plant health

We know how important bacteria and fungi are for the health of plants. In marine environments and in our own gut, bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) are important in regulating the microbiome. Yet, their effect on bacteria living around the roots of plants has hardly been studied. "I cannot believe that they are not important," says Joana Falcao Salles, Professor of Microbial Community Ecology at the University of Groningen. She is the lead author of a review paper in Trends in Microbiology, which argues for more research into the role of bacteriophages in plant health.

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