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. Marc Somssich
CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 2
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