Integrating electroactive microorganisms into active soil management strategies

Lenon Romano Modesto, Ignacio Baquedano, Ezgi Öğün Ramalhete, Silvia Mena, Mukesh Sharma, Pablo Rodríguez-Núñez, Ivana Danilov, Dibyojyoty Nath, Natasha Tait, Ignacio Javier Moro, Uliana Reutina, Işıl Yücel, Snežana Vučetić, Alicia Prieto, David Colliaux, Jorge Barriuso, Gonzalo Guirado, Ioannis Andrea Ieropoulos, Xavier Munoz-Berbel, Jovana Grahovac, Peter Hanappe, Naroa Uria, Markus R. Schmidt, Rachel Armstrong

Our partners at Sony CSL Paris, alongside Lenon Romano Modesto and Rachel Armstrong, recently published a review in Frontiers in Microbiology exploring how electroactive microorganisms (EAMs) could be integrated into agricultural soils as living, programmable components of regenerative farming systems.

The study advocates for a proactive “gardening microorganisms” approach — treating EAMs as active agents rather than passive soil inhabitants. Through soil microbial fuel cells and bioelectronic scaffolds, these organisms can simultaneously mobilize nutrients, detoxify pollutants, and detect early signs of soil stress, positioning them as a promising tool for building climate-smart, regenerative agroecosystems.

Read the full paper here.

Modesto LR, Baquedano I, Ramalhete EÖ, Mena S, Sharma M, Rodríguez-Núñez P, Danilov I, Nath D, Tait N, Moro IJ, Reutina U, Yücel I, Vučetić S, Prieto A, Colliaux D, Barriuso J, Guirado G, Ieropoulos IA, Munoz-Berbel X, Grahovac J, Hanappe P, Uria N, Schmidt MR and Armstrong R (2026) Integrating electroactive microorganisms into active soil management strategies. Front. Microbiol. 17:1753999. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1753999