Content of lectures: 1 - 2: Plant as the host environment - aerial plant parts/internal surfaces (phyllosphere, endophytes, rhizosphere, mycorhizosphere vs. bulk soil; spatial and temporal scales of root colonization), methods. 3: The evolution of mutualism in plant-microbe interactions - origin of symbiotic associations, the impact of symbiotic associations on host genome evolution, similar molecular bases which underlie the establishment of both pathogenic and mutualistic interactions, holobiont/hologenome theory. 4 - 5: Microbially mediated plant functional traits - link to the ecosystem level. Single plants: root architecture, fitness, herbivores, pollinators; Populations and communities: community diversity, competition, invasive species. 6: Plant-mediated structuring of bacterial communities - composition, variation, determinants, methods, influence on microbial communities, the importance of exudates vs. other rhizodeposits, plant-microbe communication and signaling. 7: Microbe-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere - microbial cell surface secretion system, complex microbial communities, biofilms and quorum sensing, diversity, function, horizontal gene transfer, genes as a common resource, protection against pathogens, adaptations to life in rhizosphere; methods. 8 - 9: Plant nutrient acquisition I - Biotic and abiotic reactions which influence P and Fe availability in soil, plant and microbial stoichiometry, biochemistry of P and Fe uptake, strategy I and II plants, phytosiderophores and microbial siderophores, organic acids, flavonoids, link to soil organic carbon cycling, organic vs. mineral nutrient uptake, rhizophagy, analogy between roots and gut. 10: Plant nutrient acquisition II - the N cycle story - mechanism of plant N acquisition facilitated by microbes (in space, time), N redistribution between microbes and plants, seasonal changes in plant-microbe N cycling, conservative vs. competitive strategy. 11 - 12: Applications - biocontrol, disease-suppressive bacteria, phytoremediation, growth-promoting bacteria, constructed wetlands? Content of practicals: Practicals will be based on longer-term growth experiments, with the use of model axenic plant species. The experimental setup will be specified each year to fit the interests of both students and lecturers. A combination of some or all of the following approaches will be used to evaluate plant growth response to microbial colonization: epifluorescence microscopy, qPCR, gas chromatography, and a suite of standard plant ecophysiological measurements such as growth rate, biomass production, rate of photosynthesis etc. An excursion to a constructed wetland site will be a part of the course.
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The course aims to provide an integrated understanding of the complex interactions between plants and microorganisms, from the level of individuals to ecosystem level, and to highlight the key role microbes play in the evolution, development, health, and ecology of higher plants. Students will be trained to plan, carry out, evaluate, and interpret basic experiments. Critical reading of current scientific literature will be encouraged.
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Ben Lugtenberg (Ed.). 2015. Principles of Plant-Microbe Interactions: Microbes for Sustainable Agriculture. Springer Int., Switzerland..
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Frans J. de Bruijn (Ed.). 2011. Handbook of Molecular Microbial Ecology I and II. Wiley-Blackwell, USA..
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Frans J. de Bruijn (Ed.). 2013. Molecular Microbial Ecology of the Rhizosphere, Two Volume Set. Wiley-Blackwell, USA..
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Joe C. Polacco, Christopher D. Todd (Eds.). 2011. Ecological Aspects of Nitrogen Metabolism in Plants. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA..
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Martin R. Broadley, Philip J. White (Eds.). 2005. Plant Nutritional Genomics. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., USA..
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