Scientists Propose Rhizosphere Engineering as a Scalable Solution to Climate-Induced Agricultural Challenges

Soil health and climate resilience are at the heart of global agricultural sustainability efforts. A collaborative team from Nitrogen Biogeochemistry Lab, led by Prof. LU Xiankai at South China Botanical Garden, published a cutting-edge review proposing rhizosphere engineering as a transformative solution to the multifaceted challenges facing food systems under global change.

The study outlines how traditional monoculture systems, reliant on heavy inputs of fertilizers and pesticides, often degrade soil quality and microbial diversity, ultimately undermining long-term sustainability. In contrast, rhizosphere engineering offers a transformative approach by leveraging plant genetics, microbial consortia, and nucleic acid innovations including gene editing and synthetic biology to redesign plant-microbe-soil interactions. This approach promotes nutrient acquisition, carbon retention, pathogen suppression, and pollutant removal. The review provides a comparative analysis of natural versus engineered rhizospheres and synthesizes cross-disciplinary insights to highlight the practical potential of modifying both plant root traits and microbial communities (Fig.1). By strategically enhancing these interactions, engineered rhizospheres can support resilient crop systems capable of withstanding climate-induced stressors such as elevated CO₂, nitrogen deposition, rising temperatures, and irregular precipitation (Fig.2). This integrated framework addresses the interconnected goals of crop productivity, protection, and environmental remediation offering a scalable path toward food security and ecological sustainability.

One of the key conclusions from the review is that microbial innovations, when coupled with host plant genotype optimization, can significantly enhance nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration, especially in degraded and climate-sensitive soils. The authors emphasize that nucleic acid-based approaches including CRISPR, RNAi, and metagenomic-guided engineering allow for precise modifications of rhizosphere functions, opening new avenues for sustainable crop improvement. Moreover, the review calls for policies and institutional support that enable field-scale validation of these technologies, the development of biosafety protocols, and the integration of rhizosphere design into broader agro-ecological practices. In summary, this review highlights the importance of moving beyond conventional input-intensive farming toward biologically intelligent systems grounded in ecological principles and molecular innovation. Rhizosphere engineering emerges not only as a conceptual advancement but also as a practical, scalable solution to the complex challenges of 21st-century agriculture.

The review, titled by "Advancing Crop Resilience through Nucleic Acid Innovations: Rhizosphere Engineering for Food Security and Climate Adaptation", was recently published at a well-known journal “International Journal of Biological Macromolecules” (IF₂₀₂₄=8.5). Postdoctoral researchers Qudsia Saeed and Adnan Mustafa are co-first authors. Prof. LU Xiankai as the corresponding author. This study was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China, the Key Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province, and National Natural Science Foundation of China. Paper link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.143194

Figure 1. Schematic diagram on optimizing plant-microbe-soil interfaces using rhizosphere engineering.（Imaged by LU et al）

Figure 2. Effects of climate change on key biogeochemical processes in agro-ecosystems (left panel) and the role of rhizosphere engineering for mitigating these impacts on the soil-plant-environment system.（Imaged by LU et al）