Research Area 2
Plant Microbiota Metabolic Networks and Edaphic Adaptation
Plant fitness in natural environments and agricultural crop yields are influenced by plant-associated microbiota and soil type. The composition and activity of plant microbiota are determined by nutritional (mineral nutrients), metabolic (primary and specialized metabolites), and edaphic (physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil) factors interacting with different plant genotypes. This Research Area investigates the contribution of microbiota to plant performance and edaphic adaptation. RA2 will identify genetic, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms governing the structure, activity, and function of plant-associated microbial communities in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere. The central working hypotheses of RA2 are as follows: (i) metabolic partnership between plants and associated microbes is important for the establishment of interorganismal nutritional networks, and (ii) variation in this metabolic connectivity is a major force underlying edaphic adaptation and plant health. Metabolic models will be developed from analyses of plant-microbe communities growing in different natural soils and environments, and their physiological relevance will be tested and refined using an iterative set of microbiota reconstitution experiments under controlled nutritional perturbations. Central to RA2 is an integrated analysis of the plant microbiota metabolism, taking advantage of reductionist approaches.
Coordinators
Dr. Rubén Garrido-Oter

Department of Plant Microbe Interactions
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Members
Dr. Florian Altegoer

Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Arun Alexander Anburaj

Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Laura Armbruster

CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Borjana Arsova

Group leader, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Petra Bauer

Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2
Prof. Dr. Marcel Bucher

Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Gunther Döhlemann

Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3
Prof. Dr. Oliver Ebenhöh

Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4
Büşra Elkatmış

Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Wolf B. Frommer

Jan Gaertner

Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Rubén Garrido Oter

Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4
Dr. Tonni Grube Andersen

Dr. Stéphane Hacquard

Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Dr. Götz Hensel

Prof. Dr. Tatjana Hildebrandt

Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3
Dr. Poonam Kanwar

Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Area 1,2
Prof. Dr. Stanislav Kopriva

Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4
Prof. Dr. Maria von Korff Schmising

Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,4
Dr. Steven Le Hung Cheng

Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Area 2,3
Dr. Ernesto Llamas

CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Eliza Loo

Group leader, Research Area 2,3
Dr. Takaki Maekawa

Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Milena Malisic

Daniel Moser

Docotoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Ellen Oldenburg

Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Area 2,4
Prof. Dr. Jane E. Parker

Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3
Prof. Dr. Markus Pauly

Dr. Anthony Piro

Dr. Daniela Ristova

Group leader, Research Area 1, 2
Prof. Dr. Laura Rose

Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,4
Pia Saake

Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Sebastian Samwald

CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Isabel ML Saur

Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Paul Schulze-Lefert

Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schurr

Dr. Johana Stadtel geb. Misas Villamil

Group leader, Research Area 2
Dr. St. Elmo Wilken

Dr. Michael Wudick

Group leader, Research Area 1, 2
Dr. Yanrong You

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zeier

Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Dr. Jinyi Zhu

CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Alga Zuccaro

Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4
Dr. Weiliang Zuo

CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 2,3
Prof. Dr. Matias Zurbriggen

Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4