We kicked off sampling at Stiles Farm, part of the Texas Water Observatory, uniting hydrology, biogeochemistry, and microbiology to develop a framework predicting how water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles interact across landscapes for sustainable land and water management.

Antony-Babu lab’s role focuses on microbial communities; how soil microbes respond to wet-dry cycles, redox shifts, and landscape heterogeneity, and how those microbial “ecotraits” help scale biogeochemical processes from individual pores to whole watersheds.

In this collaboration, led by Dr. Binayak P. Mohanty, our lab joins forces with the Mohanty lab and Dr. Salvatore Calabrese’s group.

#Looking_Ahead
This study spotlights Pseudomonas as a pivotal member of the #hyphosphere_pathobiome, suggesting a broader perspective on plant disease, highlighting microbial network interactions in determining outcomes and inform targeted interventions beyond “one-pathogen” strategies.

#Insights_Gained
Early recruitment and dominance of Pseudomonas comprising >95% of the community.
Hyphal association in action, revealing active spatial colonisation.
Metabarcoding and correlation analyses indicated competitive exclusion within the hyphosphere coinciding with Pseudomonas dominance.

#Our_Approach
We combined confocal time-lapse microscopy, 16S rRNA metabarcoding, culture-dependent isolation, whole-genome sequencing, and co-culture assays to characterize hyphosphere dynamics

#Why_It_Matters
FOV4 is among the most devastating soil-borne pathogens in cotton.
Traditional disease models focus on the pathogen. Our findings show that disease outcomes are shaped by hyphosphere-associated bacteria, shifting the paradigm from single-pathogen to community-driven pathogenesis.

#Key_Concept
We demonstrate that the hyphosphere of Fusarium wilt Race 4 (FOV4) is not a neutral microbial niche but a pathobiome hotspot, overwhelmingly dominated by Pseudomonas. Our work reframes plant disease as an outcome of microbial partnerships between pathogens and their bacterial associates

We congratulate them on their new roles, Ilksen as a Lead Research Scientist at #NewLife_Biosciences LLC, and Lucia as a Laboratory Assistant at Little Beakers Science Lab for Kids.

#Looking_Ahead
The implications extend far beyond this single pathosystem. Plant disease, as our findings underscore, is rarely the consequence of a solitary pathogen. It emerges from the complex interplay of microbial communities that shape both resilience and susceptibility.

#Insights_Gained
Microbial dysbiosis often precedes visible disease symptoms, highlighting early warning signs within the microbiome.

Most importantly, we found that pathobionts in the hyphosphere can be distinguished as a potentially distinct pathobiome within the broader dysbiosis community.

#Our_Approach
We integrated microbiome analyses, disease ecology concepts, and pathobiome frameworks to analyze how microbial community dynamics influence the development of Fusarium wilt TR4.

#Why_It_Matters
Fusarium wilt TR4 threatens one of the world’s most important food crops: banana.
Highlights how microbiome perspectives looking beyond the pathogen to the entire microbial community can provide new strategies to mitigate this global threat.

Key Concept Highlight
We distinguish between microbial dysbiosis and the pathobiome in the context of banana Fusarium wilt (TR4).
Understanding this distinction can reshape how we view plant health decline.

Grateful to my collaborators Vanessa E. Thomas, Gayan Abeysinghe, Paul K. Goetze and Young-Ki Jo. We explore how rethinking plant-microbiome interactions can inform strategies to address one of the most pressing challenges in global banana production.