Research Area 2
Root-Microbe Interface
Plants and Their Microbial Partners: Unlocking Nature’s Hidden Network
Over the past decade, research - including work from CEPLAS - has shown that a plant’s success in agricultural settings and natural ecosystems depends heavily on its associated microbes. Plants don’t grow alone: they live in close partnership with diverse microbial communities that support their health and performance.
CEPLAS has been at the forefront of studying plant-microbe interactions, helping to build a complete picture of how these relationships shape plant growth and resilience. We now know that the type and activity of a plant’s microbiota are shaped by the plant’s own metabolism, nutrient status, specialized chemical compounds, immune system, and soil conditions.
But many questions remain: How do changes in soil - such as differences in nutrients, microbes, or physical properties - affect the microbiome? And how do these changes influence plant performance over time?
To close this gap, we will explore the complex connections between plant roots, their microbial communities, and the dynamic soil environment - across scales, from molecules and cells to whole plants and soil systems.
Coordinators
Dr. Rubén Garrido-Oter
Telephone+49 221 5062344
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
Contributing Investigator, 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
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4
Sabrina Egli
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 1,2
Büşra Elkatmış
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Wolf B. Frommer
Jan Gaertner
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Dr. Rubén Garrido Oter
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4
Dr. Ricardo F. H. Giehl
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,2,5
Dr. Tonni Grube Andersen
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1, 2
Dr. Stéphane Hacquard
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Elena Hamann
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,2,4
Dr. Götz Hensel
Prof. Dr. Tatjana Hildebrandt
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3
Dr. Poonam Kanwar
CEPLAS Researcher, Research Area 1,2
Annoshay Khan
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Stanislav Kopriva
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4
Stanislav Kopriva
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2,3
Prof. Dr. Maria von Korff Schmising
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,4
Dr. Steven Le Hung Cheng
CEPLAS 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
Dr. Ellen Oldenburg
Postdoctoral Researcher, Research Area 2,4
Nathaniel Oragbon
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 1,2,4
Prof. Dr. Jane E. Parker
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2,3
Prof. Dr. Markus Pauly
Dr. Anthony Piro
Dr. Vicente Ramírez
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Dr. Daniela Ristova
Group leader, Research Area 1, 2
Prof. Dr. Laura Rose
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,4
Dr. Isabel ML Saur
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Flora Schlüter
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2,4
Prof. Dr. Paul Schulze-Lefert
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schurr
Dr. Johana Stadtel geb. Misas Villamil
Contributing Investigator, Research Area 2
Dr. St. Elmo Wilken
Group leader, Research Area 2,4
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
Zoé Zick
Doctoral Researcher, Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Alga Zuccaro
Principal Investigator, Research Area 2,3,4
Prof. Dr. Matias Zurbriggen
Principal Investigator, Research Area 1,2,3,4