Interactions between plants and microbes are shaped by the physical world that surrounds them. In nature, the abiotic environment is complex, and factors such as nutrient and water availability, humidity, wind, carbon dioxide levels, salt, pollutants, and temperature all affect the growth and physiology of plants and microbes as well as their interactions. Much of our mechanistic understanding of plant-microbe interactions comes from experiments done in carefully controlled conditions. This Focus Issue looks at how aspects of the abiotic environment affect these plant-microbe interactions, and, conversely, how plant-microbe interactions affect host response to abiotic stress.[Formula: see text] The author(s) have dedicated the work to the public domain under the Creative Commons CC0 "No Rights Reserved" license by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law, 2022.Additional content is available on the Focus on the Role of the Abiotic Environment on Interactions Between Plants and Microbes.Complete Genome Sequence of Curtobacterium sp. C1, a Beneficial Endophyte with the Potential for In-Plant Salinity Stress AlleviationProteasomal Degradation of JAZ9 by Salt- and Drought-Induced Ring Finger 1 During Pathogen Infection.