A framework for utilizing leaf-associated microbes to achieve conservation and restoration goals | mSphere
From its foundation, the field of conservation biology has been inherently multidisciplinary, bringing together diverse tools for managing biodiversity amid global anthropogenic change (1). First described by Soulé (2), the field of conservation biology operates to conserve and restore biotic communities, which can involve interdependent species that have coevolved with one another (2). Relatively little attention has been given to the potential role of microbial communities in conservation and their host interactions, despite microbes constituting the majority of biodiversity and cellular biomass on Earth (3) and providing important functional roles to hosts and ecosystems (4, 5). Plant-associated microbes are increasingly utilized in agriculture to promote plant health (6), but their use in conservation is mainly limited to applications of root associates.
