Protist-mediated rhizosphere networks: advancing cereal crop resilience through microbial ecology

Protists are important but understudied regulators of rhizosphere microbial communities. Through grazing on bacteria and fungi, they can influence microbial community structure, nutrient release, and plant–microbe interactions. However, the functional consequences of these trophic interactions remain poorly understood. Current research is often fragmented across microbial ecology, soil science, and plant biology, with limited integration of protist activity with nutrient cycling and plant performance. This Research Topic will address these gaps by bringing together studies that investigate how protist grazing shapes microbial functional traits, nutrient fluxes, and plant responses across different soil and environmental conditions. Contributions using molecular, cultivation-based, stable isotope, and trait-based approaches will be encouraged to connect protist activity with measurable ecosystem functions. By integrating ecological, mechanistic, and methodological perspectives, the Topic aims to develop a clearer and more predictive understanding of protist-mediated rhizosphere processes and their relevance to sustainable crop and soil management.This Research Topic focuses on protist trophic interactions in the rhizosphere and their functional consequences for microbial communities and plant performance. It brings together mechanistic, ecological, and methodological perspectives. Rather than using cereal systems as the organizing premise, we consider them an important applied context in which these processes may influence crop resilience and nutrient use efficiency. We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to:• Protist grazing selectivity toward bacterial and fungal taxa and its effects on microbial community composition and function, including PGPR and mycorrhizal interactions.• The magnitude of protist mediated nutrient fluxes, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, and their contribution to rhizosphere nutrient cycling.• Protist community responses to soil type, climate, and management, and their links to plant nutrient acquisition and stress tolerance.• Protistan biocontrol mechanisms against soilborne pathogens.• Methodological advances in cultivation, in situ visualization, single cell analysis, and functional genomics that enable standardized assessment of protist function.We invite Original Research, Reviews, and Methods articles using molecular, experimental, field, mesocosm, or modelling approaches. The Topic aims to advance protist rhizosphere research from descriptive surveys toward a functional and mechanistic understanding applicable across cropping systems, including cereals. Topic editors: Arpan Mukherjee, Amitava Rakshit, JAY PRAKASH VERMA, Giridhar Babu Anam, Saman Abeysinghe Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82150/protist-mediated-rhizosphere-networks-advancing-cereal-crop-resilience-through-microbial-ecology