Ecological importance and genetic basis of plant-microbe associations in Brassicaceae and Hordeum species exposed to environmental challenges (A11)

• Subject Area: Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 456082119

Beneficial microbes can increase plant growth in nutrient poor environments and improve their resistance to pathogens. However, plants may also vary in their capacity to benefit from their growth-promoting effects. We will investigate how plant genetic variation impacts on the root associated microbial community, the microbe-mediated growth promotion and stress resistance in ecologically diverse Brassicaceae and Hordeum species grown under nutrient and water limitations. This work will advance our understanding of how beneficial microbes support environmental adaptation in plants and to what extent this is mediated by host genes conserved across species.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 341: Plant Ecological Genetics
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Head: Professorin Dr. Alga Zuccaro, since 7/2022