Host-guided engineering of tomato root-associated microbiomes that increase resistance to aphids

Our goal was to naturally engineer tomato root-associated microbiomes that increase resistance to common insect pests and generally improve crop health. First, we tested several approaches for engineering insect-suppressive rhizosphere soil microbiomes that reduce damage from aphid feeding (Macrosiphum euphorbiae) using an iterative soil microbial inoculation process. Second, using metabarcoding approaches, we characterized the bacterial and fungal communities of selected soils associated with differences in aphid performance on tomato.