Understanding Symbiotic Diversity: A candidate gene approach

Interaction between plant root and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AMF) is a crucial symbiosis in nature and present in almost all crops. In addressing plant responses to stress, this research shifts the focus from the host to the symbiotic unit. By recognizing symbiosis to be a major player in evolution, the interplay is valued between the adaptive regulation of host and symbionts metabolisms.

This project studies - for the first time - the interaction between plant (wild carrot) and AMF in natural ecosystems using a candidate marker (alternative oxidase), followed by experiments exploring driving effects of evolution.

The research will lead to better understanding of evolutionary processes that shape the composition of the symbiosis and of the benefit of diversity to crop productivity. 

There is high commercial interest in appropriate breeding strategies based on efficient genotype-mycorrhiza as they can promote, a.o., a more sustainable use of phosphorus in crops and minimize associated biodiversity losses, and mitigate the impacts of global climate change on agricultural and native plant communities. 

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