MICROP

Hereto, we study the evolution of plant-microbiome interactions and identify opportunities for future plant breeding at an unprecedented scale. Our focus is on understanding stress-adaptive microbiomes and their active recruitment by plants across the plant kingdom through a phylogenetic approach. With precision-based methods, we analyse the root microbiome dynamics of 100 wild and cultivated plant species - related to the five most important food crop families (Brassicaceae, Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Graminaea and Cucurbitaceae) - grown under four major types of environmental stress (nutrient deficiency, drought, pathogen infection, herbivory). This highly ambitious effort will provide unrivalled insight into the evolution and potential of wild plant and crop species across the plant kingdom to select, assemble, and benefit from their microbiomes... We zoom in on the discovery of novel microbiome functions that are recruited by plants to alleviate environmental stress, and gain insights..

Also known as: MiCRop Consortium

Primary location: Amsterdam Netherlands