Steering soil microbiomes for better crop quality: the holy grail to improve human health

Gut health, and especially the gut microbiome are important players in human health as they are related to the occurrence of non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. The microbial and chemical properties of vegetables influence the composition of the gut microbiome, and are themselves influenced by soil microbiomes and therefore affected by agricultural practices. Here we investigate the effects of land-use and food production systems on the microbial and chemical properties of plants and the soil microbiome and how all these factors relate to human health.