Harnessing beneficial microorganisms is seen as a promising approach to enhance sustainable agriculture production. Synthetic communities (SynComs) are increasingly being used to study relevant microbial activities and interactions with the plant host. Yet, the lack of community standards limits the efficiency and progress in this important area of research. To address this gap, we recommend three actions: (1) defining reference SynComs; (2) establishing community standards, protocols and benchmark data for constructing and using SynComs; and (3) creating an infrastructure for sharing strains and data. We also outline opportunities to develop SynCom research through technical advances, linking to field studies, and filling taxonomic blind spots to move towards fully representative SynComs.

利用有益微生物被视为加强可持续农业生产的一种有前途的方法。合成群落 （SynComs） 越来越多地用于研究相关的微生物活动以及与植物宿主的相互作用。然而，缺乏社区标准限制了这一重要研究领域的效率和进步。为了解决这一差距，我们建议采取三项行动：（1） 定义参考 SynCom;（2） 建立构建和使用 SynComs 的社区标准、协议和基准数据;（3） 创建共享菌株和数据的基础设施。我们还概述了通过技术进步、与实地研究的联系以及填补分类学盲点来发展 SynCom 研究的机会，以朝着完全具有代表性的 SynCom 迈进。