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 microbiomes



1.Advances in viromics for analysing soil microorganisms: Mamadou Fall, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada;
2.Advances in metaproteomics for analysing soil microorganisms: Paolo Nannipieri, University of Florence, Italy;

Part 2 Bacteria and fungi in soil



3.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: Youzhi Feng, Institute of Soil Science - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China;
5.Advances in understanding mycorrhizae in soil: Greg Thorn, University of Western Ontario, Canada;

Part 3 Analysing structure and dynamics of soil microbiomes



6.Advances in understanding microbial communities in the rhizosphere: Gupta Vadakattu, CSIRO, 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: Patrick Schafer, University of Giessen, Germany;

Part 4 Soil microbiomes and ecosystem services



9.Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in carbon cycling: Alain Plante, University of Pennsylvania, USA;
10.Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in nutrient cycling: Tim Clough, Lincoln University, New Zealand;
11.Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in protecting plants from pathogens: Vasvi Chaudhry, University of Tübingen, Germany;
12.Advances in understanding the role of soil microbiomes in promoting crop resistance to abiotic stress: Kadambot Siddique, University of Western Australia, Australia;

Part 5 Promoting soil microbiomes and their contribution to soil ecosystem services



13.Understanding and optimising 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 Whalen, McGill University, Canada;
15.Understanding how land use management affects soil microbiomes: Lucas William Mendes, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil;