Dynamics and persistence of plant-microbe interactions

Plant-associated pathogens cause large annual losses of our major crops, which is expected to be exacerbated by climate change. However, not all microbes cause disease damage as pathogens.

Most microbes interact beneficially with plants by improving their nutrient uptake and promoting their resistance to pests and disease.

Leveraging such beneficial interactions is increasingly recognized as a promising approach to ensure global food security in the future.

However this requires an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms underlying maintaining the plant-microbe interactions (PMIs) in a changing environment, which is currently lacking.

The goal of this project is to close this gap by providing an understanding of the continuous functional association of microbes and their host plants (i.e. persistence).

Using advanced molecular methods, we will conduct carefully designed experiments combined with a space-for-time substitution approach to determine the roles of host plants and associated microbes in the dynamics and persistence of PMIs and how climate change may alter these.

This project will not only provide unprecedented insights into PMIs, it will also have implications for developing strategies towards more sustainable plant growth promotion and disease control.

Only by studying both biotic and abiotic interactions simultaneously, we can understand how PMIs are maintained and affected by external interventions, and how we can sustain their function.