Biological disease control by beneficial (micro)organisms: Selected breakthroughs in the past 50 years

Biological control of plant disease by beneficial (micro)organisms is one of the main tools available to preserve plant health within the wider context of One Health and in line with the goals of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The commercial development of biocontrol agents, together with a new perspective on the resident microbial community, all supported by innovative “omics” technologies, continues to gain in prominence in plant pathology, addressing the need to feed the increasing world population and to assure a safe and secure access to food. The present review considers selected advances within the last 50 years, highlighting those that can be considered as breakthroughs for the biological control research field. Selected examples of successful biocontrol agents and strategies are reported, including the history of the progress in researching Trichoderma isolates as commercial biocontrol agents, the exploitation of mycoviruses to confer hypovirulence to plant pathogenic fungi, the role of microbial communities in the suppressiveness of soils, and evolving approaches including the establishment of Synthetic Microbial Communities (SynCom).