plant science Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, the spermosphere is the zone in the soil surrounding a germinating seed. This is a small volume with radius perhaps 1 cm but varying with seed type, the variety of soil

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

s, the level of soil moisture, and other factors. Within the spermosphere a range of complex interactions take place among the germinating seed, the soil, and the

microbiome A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably wel ...

. Because germination is a brief process, the spermosphere is transient, but the impact of the microbial activity within the spermosphere can have strong and long-lasting effects on the developing plant. Seeds

exude An exudate is a fluid emitted by an organism through pores or a wound, a process known as exuding or exudation. ''Exudate'' is derived from ''exude'' 'to ooze' from Latin ''exsūdāre'' 'to (ooze out) sweat' (''ex-'' 'out' and ''sūdāre'' 'to ...

various molecules that influence their surrounding microbial communities, either inhibiting or stimulating their growth. The composition of the exudates varies according to the plant type and such properties of the soil as its pH and moisture content. With these biochemical effects, the spermosphere develops both downward—to form the

rhizosphere The rhizosphere is the narrow region of soil or substrate that is directly influenced by root secretions and associated soil microorganisms known as the root microbiome. Soil pores in the rhizosphere can contain many bacteria and other microo ...

(upon the emergence of the plant's

radicle In botany, the radicle is the first part of a seedling (a growing plant embryo) to emerge from the seed during the process of germination. The radicle is the embryonic root of the plant, and grows downward in the soil (the shoot emerges from ...

)—and upward to form the laimosphere, which is the soil surrounding the growing

plant stem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nut ...

References

{{Reflist Soil biology Plant roots Environmental soil science