At Pharmabiotics 2026, Angela Sessitsch, Head of Center at AIT – Austrian Institute of Technology, presented research exploring how plant-associated microorganisms contribute to plant growth, health and resilience. Her work shows that environmental pressures such as drought can substantially reshape the plant microbiome. In potatoes, plants that cope more effectively with water stress are associated with specific microbial taxa carrying potentially beneficial functions, including biofilm formation.

Sessitsch also discussed the seed microbiome, a relatively small but functionally important community of microorganisms found both on and inside seeds. Experiments conducted by her team suggest that removing these microorganisms can severely impair seed viability and germination, highlighting their importance during the earliest stages of plant development. This research also inspired new methods for delivering beneficial microbial inoculants directly into seeds, where they may survive and establish more effectively than conventional surface coatings. The approach led to the creation of the spin-off company Ensemo, which has developed an injection technology and a first soybean product containing Bradyrhizobium, with promising results compared with externally applied inoculants.