Manipulating the plant phyllosphere microbiome for plant and environmental health

About the Project

Healthy plants, like all higher organisms, host an extensive commensal microbial community or microbiome. Non-pathogenic microbes in many cases benefit the host. In plants, both the leaf microbiome, the phyllosphere, and the root microbiome, the rhizosphere, contain a wide range of bacterial and fungal species, including some that have been shown to play a range of roles in disease prevention. Changes in the microbiome can, therefore, have important effects on agricultural yield and microbial supplementation offers a real option for biological control of disease, reducing the need for fungicides. Understanding the rules of establishment of microbial supplements within the microbiome is currently a key knowledge gap, with many potential biological control agents failing to establish in the field under real agricultural conditions. This project will use a metabarcoding approach to analyse the impact of a range of biotic and abiotic stresses experienced by plants in the field on the phyllosphere microbiome and to try and establish the key elements that define a resilient microbial community. We will analyse the effects of both environmental and agricultural treatments. Effects on the microbiome of abiotic factors such as light, drought stress, plant immune responses and even internal plant circadian rhythms will also be tested. This project will also investigate the potential for probiotic treatment / microbiota transfer to help restore microbial homeostasis using synthetic communities (SynComs) cultured from microbes that are native to healthy untreated plants.

Entry Requirements: Candidates are expected to hold (or be about to obtain) a minimum upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in a related area /subject.