『Sondii's designed cover was featured in Cell』Unlocking the Secrets of Crop Rhizosphere Microbes: Introducing Two Major Gene Libraries, CRBC and CRVC!!

Volume 188, Issue 9p2521-2539.e22May 01, 2025

Rui Dai1,2,3,4,11 ∙ Jingying Zhang2,3,11 ∙ Fang Liu1,11 ∙ Haoran Xu1,3,4 ∙ Jing-Mei Qian1,3,4 ∙ Shani Cheskis5 ∙ Weidong Liu1,3,4 ∙ Binglei Wang2 ∙ Honghui Zhu6 ∙ Lotte J.U. Pronk7 ∙ Marnix H. Medema7 ∙ Ronnie de Jonge8,9 ∙ Corné M.J. Pieterse8 ∙ Asaf Levy5 ∙ Klaus Schlaeppi10 ∙ Yang Bai2,3,12

The cover of this issue of Cell features the research article by Dr. Yang Bai of Peking University, titled "Crop Root Bacterial and Viral Genomes Reveal Unexplored Species and Microbiome Patterns”.

Research background

Rhizosphere microbial reference genomes are essential for metagenomic analysis and mechanism studies of crop rhizosphere microbiomes. Currently, publicly available crop rhizosphere bacterial genomes are limited in quantity and phylogenetic diversity, and research on bacterial-viral interactions in crop rhizosphere ecosystems is relatively insufficient.

Research significance

Genomic resource expansion: By combining high-throughput bacterial culture with metagenomic sequencing, the wheat, rice, corn and alfalfa rhizosphere bacterial genome collection (CRBC) and viral genome collection (CRVC) were constructed. CRBC greatly expanded the number and phylogenetic diversity of publicly available crop rhizosphere bacterial genomes, increasing the diversity of crop rhizosphere bacteria by 290.6%; CRVC contains 9,736 non-redundant viral genomes, including 1,572 genus-level clusters that have not been reported in crop rhizosphere microbiomes before.

Functional and interaction discovery: From these genomes, conserved bacterial functions enriched in rhizosphere microbiomes of different soils and host plants were identified, and previously unexplored bacterial-viral interactions in crop rhizosphere ecosystems were revealed.

Research prospects

Microbial mechanism research: Use CRBC and CRVC to deeply explore the interaction mechanism of crop rhizosphere microorganisms, such as how bacteria-virus interactions affect the structure and function of rhizosphere microbial communities.

Agricultural application exploration: Based on these genomic resources, develop regulatory strategies for crop rhizosphere microorganisms to promote crop growth and health and improve the sustainability of agricultural production, such as using specific rhizosphere bacteria or viruses to enhance crop stress resistance or nutrient absorption capacity.

Cover Design Process

• The cover design is inspired by the theme of microorganisms and viruses, echoing the research content on the diversity of rhizosphere bacteria and viruses in crops in the paper. The central vortex funnel shape symbolizes the complexity and diversity of microbial communities, suggesting new species and microbiome patterns discovered in the study.
• The overall color combination is fresh and natural, using dark blue and purple as the background color, creating a deep, mysterious and technological atmosphere. The green and pink microbial images stand out against the dark background, enhancing the visual impact and attracting the reader's attention.
• The overall style of the cover tends to be science fiction and futuristic, combining abstract and figurative elements, with both artistic beauty and scientific rigor. The use of lines and grids increases the sense of technology, symbolizing the complexity of data analysis and gene sequences, giving people a dynamic feeling, as if the microorganisms are constantly moving and changing, making it look both real and artistic. In the end, the cover was highly recognized by teachers and journal editors and was successfully published!