Microbiome Research as an Effective Driver of Success Stories in Agrifood Systems - A Selection of Case Studies.

Increasing knowledge of the microbiome has led to significant advancements in the agrifood system. Case studies based on microbiome applications have been reported worldwide and, in this review, we have selected 14 success stories that showcase the importance of microbiome research in advancing the agrifood system. The selected case studies describe products, methodologies, applications, tools, and processes that created an economic and societal impact. Additionally, they cover a broad range of fields within the agrifood chain: the management of diseases and putative pathogens; the use of microorganism as soil fertilizers and plant strengtheners; the investigation of the microbial dynamics occurring during food fermentation; the presence of microorganisms and/or genes associated with hazards for animal and human health (e.g., mycotoxins, spoilage agents, or pathogens) in feeds, foods, and their processing environments; applications to improve HACCP systems; and the identification of novel probiotics and prebiotics to improve the animal gut microbiome or to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases in humans (e.g., obesity complications). The microbiomes of soil, plants, and animals are pivotal for ensuring human and environmental health and this review highlights the impact that microbiome applications have with this regard.
Competing Interests: At the time of writing, SS was employed by Indigo Ag. RdS and JA was employed by Symbiomics Microbiome Solutions. YS had a patent on a Bifidobacterium strain for obesity licensed (WO2012/076739A1). AS and BM had a patent on the plant-endophyte combinations and uses therefor (US9364005B2). The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The handling editor BM declared a shared affiliation with the authors MO, MR-P, and YS at the time of review.
(Copyright © 2022 Olmo, Wetzels, Armanhi, Arruda, Berg, Cernava, Cotter, Araujo, de Souza, Ferrocino, Frisvad, Georgalaki, Hansen, Kazou, Kiran, Kostic, Krauss-Etschmann, Kriaa, Lange, Maguin, Mitter, Nielsen, Olivares, Quijada, Romaní-Pérez, Sanz, Schloter, Schmitt-Kopplin, Seaton, Selvin, Sessitsch, Wang, Zwirzitz, Selberherr and Wagner.)