Symbioses: from plant/microbe mutualism to the symbiotic economy

Life is animated by a secret life of encounters, interactions and associations that are sometimes unsuspected. These biotic interactions can be beneficial, ineffective or harmful. On the whole, interactions are most often mutually beneficial (mutualism), as natural selection leads to adaptations that reduce or eliminate the impact of antagonistic interactions. These positive biological interactions create a close, lasting relationship between two individuals, in the form of a non-compulsory exchange of services (cooperation) or a vital relationship (symbiosis). A few concrete examples will illustrate the importance of these interactions for living organisms, particularly when subjected to stress. In particular, the symbiotic relationship between one of the rare leguminous plants that has become a hyperaccumulator of metallic elements and a rhizobium bacterium capable of surviving in a highly polluted environment will be better understood. Secondly, it will be shown how this association became the starting point for the restoration of a highly degraded soil. Finally, the results of this ecological restoration are at the origin of a new symbiotic economy: the recreated ecosystem generates a valuable mineral resource that is valorized according to the concept of ecocatalysis. This beneficial association between human activity and Nature is generating a regenerative economy capable of replacing the extractive model.