Britt Koskella | Research UC Berkeley

In the News

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Awards $21 Million to 21 Berkeley Researchers

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub announced today (Jan. 11) the second cohort of scientists to be named CZ Biohub Investigators, 21 of whom are UC Berkeley faculty members.

How do you cultivate a healthy plant microbiome?

A new study by University of California, Berkeley, microbial ecologists used experimental evolution to help identify the core microbiome of commercial tomatoes. They selected for those microbial taxa that best survived on the plants and then showed that these “domesticated” microbial communities are able to effectively fend off random microbes that land on the plants. In other words, these selected communities look like a stable, healthy plant microbiome, akin to what a robust tomato plant might pass to its offspring.

When it comes to climate change, don’t forget the microbes

Scientists are rightly focused on anticipating and preventing the major impacts that climate change will have on humans, plants and animals. But they shouldn’t forget the effect on Earth’s microbes, on which everything else depends, warns a group of 33 biologists from around the globe.

Fertilizer destroys plant microbiome’s ability to protect against disease

Fertilizing crops may make them more susceptible to disease

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.

December 9, 2019

Manipulating plant microbiome could yield healthier crops, cut chemical use, study shows

Genetic Literacy Project

Offering hope to farmers interested in cultivating healthy crops with less fertilizer and pesticides, a team of microbial ecologists has used experimental evolution to identify the core microbiome of commercial tomatoes. The microbiome, which helps the plant naturally fight off pestilent microbes, could be managed with probiotics and other measures, leading to healthier crops and fields. "I see the implications of this work not just being about probiotics, but also about guiding agricultural practice," says assistant integrative biology professor Britt Koskella, the study's lead author. "When planting fields, we should be thinking about how what we do -- whether it is age structuring of crops or monocropping versus crop rotations, what is in the soil or what is living nearby -- can impact the acquisition and health of the plant microbiome. We should be manipulating the growing conditions in a way that microbial transmission is more akin to what would happen naturally." For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.

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