Project Details
Projekt
SP7 - The role of tree-nematode interactions in the acclimation and adaptation of trees
Subject Area
Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
Term
since 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 507084794
The health of trees, as well as their ability to adapt and acclimate (A&A) to a changing environment, is intimately linked to soil biota. While the role of soil microbes in tree health has been demonstrated across a range of species, the role of soil nematodes, which interact with both the tree and the associated microbes, has received little attention. Soil nematodes occupy all trophic levels in soil and can modulate above-belowground relationships, affecting the tree directly through feeding (i.e., plant-parasitic nematodes) and indirectly by selectively feeding on soil microbial communities (i.e., fungivorous and bacterivorous nematodes). At the same time, these interactions can affect the gene expression of plants and induce defense mechanisms (i.e., the release of root exudates and volatiles) which may alter nutrient cycles and further modulate tree health, A&A, and susceptibility to environmental stress like drought. In particular, as they inhabit soil water films, nematodes are sensitive to changes in moisture availability triggered by drought. Thus, drought can alter nematode communities and their direct and indirect influence on plant health and A&A mechanisms. This project will determine the role of soil nematode communities in modulating the A&A of drought-stressed DF159 oak clone trees and their associated microbiota. In six work packages (WP), we will combine taxonomic and molecular nematode monitoring approaches with soil function data to assess the direct and indirect effects of drought-induced alterations in soil nematode communities on tree health and A&A by manipulating aboveground (WP1) and belowground (WP2) herbivory, the presence and abundance of soil biota (WP3), and by monitoring changes along local (WP4) and regional-scale (WP5) variations in temperature and drought. We expect that both the tree and its response to drought will affect the nematode community, and changes in the nematode community due to drought will influence tree health and A&A mechanisms, as well as the microbiome. Combining nematode monitoring approaches in WP6 will improve nematode detection and facilitate the integration of nematode data with other data generated by members of the PhytOakmeter RU. The six work packages presented will be carried out by two Ph.D. students: one will investigate the role of biotic factors in the relationship between nematodes and tree health and A&A mechanisms (WP1-3), while the other will study the role of abiotic factors and spatial scaling for nematode communities (WP4-6). By exchanging transcriptomic, ecophysiology, and soil microbiome data with other RU subprojects, this project will examine the ecological role of nematodes in the A&A and the performance of DF159 oak clone trees in a comprehensive and integrated way.
DFG Programme
Research Units
