A new study shows crop species, and not soil type, primarily determines the beneficial functions provided by root-associated microbes. In the study, soil obtained from across nine UK locations was used to cultivate six key arable crops (wheat, barley, oats, fava beans, oilseed rape, and sugar beet). Researchers found that although the local soil environment selected which kinds of bacteria were present, the crop species determined the beneficial microbial functions of those bacteria. The researchers believe the findings have significant implications for the design of microbial inoculants and microbiome-assisted breeding strategies for sustainable agriculture. The research team from Rothamsted Research, CABI, The…