The date palm microbiome: A review

Abstract

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is a significant crop grown in warm, tropical, and arid regions. The microorganisms associated with plants can have positive and negative effects on the growth and yield of crops. Thus, there is a need to study the role and contribution of the microbiome on date palms. The present review describes the current state of knowledge on the Date palm microbiome, including techniques and organisms studied, and their potential impacts/functions. We compiled an overview of the microbial species associated with date palms, plant compartments, their functions, and whether their effects were positive or negative. Many microbial species were identified as positively affecting date palms, including species that enhance growth, inhibit other pathogens, and promote Indole acetic acid and aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate plant hormones. Environmental DNA will enable studies on the whole microbiome associated with date palms, thus improving our understanding of plant microbiota and its applications for date palm production. The increasing knowledge about the microbiome of date palms offers the potential to be utilized to increase growth and yield. Furthermore, our review revealed that there currently needs to be studies on protists and archaea and their potential association with date palms, suggesting a need to target these organism groups in future studies.