ERC Advanced Grant · 2020
Roots and bacteria: Basis of attraction
Root microbiome research is motivated by the promise of using growth-promoting, disease-suppressive bacteria as transferable, protective agents in agriculture. Yet, such approaches have not realized their potential as pesticide or fertilizer alternatives. Major obstacle are soil physico-chemical complexity and a staggeringly complex biotic environment. Recent establishments of synthetic communities promise to enable mechanistic understanding of bacterial establishment in the rhizosphere. However, current methods crucially lack in spatial and temporal resolution. The root is an assembly of dynamically evolving, distinct micro-niches for bacterial colonization that I propose to characterize…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.