Sulphur Cycling Microbiomes: Biogeochemical Transformations, Stress Resilience and Next Generation Tools for Improving Oilseed Crop Yield and Quality

Abstract

Sulphur (S) is an essential secondary macronutrient that plays a wonderful role in measuring the oil content, yield, and quality of crops. It is integral part of protein synthesis, enzyme activation, oil biosynthesis, chlorophyll formation, and sulphur-containing production of secondary metabolites like glucosinolates. In nowadays, sulphur deficiency has emerged as a major nutritional restriction in oilseed-based agroecosystems due to exhaustive cropping, decreasing atmospheric sulphur emission, extensively use of sulphur-free fertilizers, and reducing organic inputs. Soil sulphur exists in multiple organic and inorganic forms that undergo continuous biogeochemical transformation processes broadly controlled by soil microbes. Sulphur-cycling based microbiomes mediate mineralization, immobilization, oxidation, and reduction, thereby regulating sulphur availability and plant acquisition. Beyond nutrition, sulphur plays a vital role in enhancing resilience to stresses through regulation mechanism of redox homeostasis, antioxidant and induce systemic defense systems. Recent advancement of in next-generation technology, especially next-generation sequencing (NGS), multi-omics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, and precision nutrient management strategies, have revolutionized the studying of sulphur-cycling microbial community assembly and their important functions in oilseed cropping. This review highlights current understanding on sulphur biogeochemistry, sulphur-cycling based microbiomes, stress resilience systems, and advancing next-generation technology, exposing their integrative potential for enhancing and improving oilseed crop yield, quality in sustainable agriculture, and eco-sustainability.