Root Microbiome Modulates Plant Growth Promotion Induced by Low Doses of Glyphosate
Glyphosate is a commonly used herbicide. However, at sublethal doses glyphosate can induce plant growth, a phenomenon known as hormesis. Here, we investigated how microbes affect the hormesis induced by low doses of glyphosate. We used Arabidopsis thaliana and a well-characterized synthetic bacterial community of 185 strains (SynCom) that mimics the root-associated microbiome of Arabidopsis. Our results indicate that glyphosate hormesis was completely dependent on the root microbiome composition, specifically on the presence of root growth inhibitors strains.
