Disentangling the importance of microbiological and physico-chemical properties of Ethiopian field soils for the Striga seed bank and sorghum infestation

TY - JOUR

T1 - Disentangling the importance of microbiological and physico-chemical properties of Ethiopian field soils for the Striga seed bank and sorghum infestation

AU - Taylor, Tamera

AU - Benti, Getahun Mitiku

AU - Fernandes Alves Leite, Marcio

AU - Etalo, Desalegn

AU - Abera Dinke, Sewunet

AU - Lombard, Lorenzo

AU - Maciá Vicente, Jose

AU - Sanow, Stefan

AU - Rybka, Dominika

AU - Mostert, Thomas

AU - Martinez de la Parte, Einar

AU - Legesse, Daniel Yimer

AU - Tsega, Urguesa

AU - Daksa, Jiregna

AU - van Doorn, Roy

AU - Leite, Raycenne

AU - Tessema, Taye

AU - Crous, Pedro W.

AU - Kawa, Dorota

AU - Kuramae, Eiko

AU - Raaijmakers, Jos M.

AU - Brady, Siobhan M.

N1 - Data archiving: NIOO data

PY - 2026/7/13

Y1 - 2026/7/13

N2 - Striga hermonthica (Striga) is a parasitic weed that severely affects sorghum yields in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent studies highlighted the soil microbiome’s potential to suppress Striga through interference with specific stages in its life cycle. In this study, meta-analysis of 48 Ethiopian field soils revealed that microbial communities and their interactions with soil physico-chemical properties correlated with Striga field occurrence. Striga infestation of sorghum and soil seedbank levels were negatively correlated with clay content and the nutrients potassium, sulfur, calcium, and carbon. Microbiome analyses indicated that fungal communities were more responsive than bacteria to changes in Striga infestation and seedbank levels, with distinct microbial compositions even in soils where Striga was not detected. Specific fungal and bacterial genera showed both positive and negative correlations with Striga measures, but patterns rarely held across taxonomic levels, highlighting the complexity of microbiometextendashStriga interactions. To begin to validate these correlations, we tested an isolate from the fungal genus Neocosmospora, which negatively correlated with the Striga seedbank, and showed that this isolate promotes Striga seed germination in vitro, suggesting potential for biological control of Striga. The data and analysis methods are integrated and shared in a public Shiny App for broader analysis and continued research on soil-Striga interactions.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Gates Foundation, https://ror.org/0456r8d26, OPP1082853

AB - Striga hermonthica (Striga) is a parasitic weed that severely affects sorghum yields in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent studies highlighted the soil microbiome’s potential to suppress Striga through interference with specific stages in its life cycle. In this study, meta-analysis of 48 Ethiopian field soils revealed that microbial communities and their interactions with soil physico-chemical properties correlated with Striga field occurrence. Striga infestation of sorghum and soil seedbank levels were negatively correlated with clay content and the nutrients potassium, sulfur, calcium, and carbon. Microbiome analyses indicated that fungal communities were more responsive than bacteria to changes in Striga infestation and seedbank levels, with distinct microbial compositions even in soils where Striga was not detected. Specific fungal and bacterial genera showed both positive and negative correlations with Striga measures, but patterns rarely held across taxonomic levels, highlighting the complexity of microbiometextendashStriga interactions. To begin to validate these correlations, we tested an isolate from the fungal genus Neocosmospora, which negatively correlated with the Striga seedbank, and showed that this isolate promotes Striga seed germination in vitro, suggesting potential for biological control of Striga. The data and analysis methods are integrated and shared in a public Shiny App for broader analysis and continued research on soil-Striga interactions.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Gates Foundation, https://ror.org/0456r8d26, OPP1082853

U2 - 10.1186/s40793-026-00926-3

DO - 10.1186/s40793-026-00926-3

M3 - Article

SN - 2524-6372

JO - Environmental Microbiome

JF - Environmental Microbiome

ER -