A Gnotobiotic Rice Pathosystem Reveals How the Microbiome Suppresses Rice Blast Disease
Timothy R Johnson, Lainey E Kemmerer, Nalleli Payne, Matthew T. VanWeelden, Luiz Fernando Würdig Roesch, Jessie Fernandez
This study uses a gnotobiotic rice system to show that microbiome colonization reduces rice blast disease severity by promoting a regulated immune state rather than just increasing defense activation.
bioRxiv · Oct 21, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology