ROOTPHENOBIOME SIGNED

Project "ROOTPHENOBIOME" data sheet

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 Project objective

Plant-associated microorganisms influence plant growth by means of the transformation of nutrients in the root-soil interphase. Nitrogen fertilization is a primary economic and environmental component of intensive maize production. Root phenotypes show a remarkable yet scarcely explored diversity at the architectural and anatomical levels of organization. Such natural variation in root phenotypes has been hypothesized to be related to adaptation under edaphic nutrient stress. The rhizosphere and rhizoplane microenvironments are microbial hotspots that may be influenced by the root phenotype. Contrasting phenotypes may have differences in root exudate localization and oxygen availability, two factors that have important effects on the composition and function of rhizosphere bacteria. In the context of the plant microbiome, previous studies have found effects of planting site, soil properties, compartmentalization (bulk soil, rhizosphere, rhizoplane, endosphere), agricultural management, and fertilization regimes on root-associated microbial communities of agriculturally relevant plants. However, the root phenotype has yet not been evaluated as possible source of variation for the plant-associated microbiome and to link this information with nutrient uptake efficiency. This proposal aims at filling this gap by combining state-of-art root phenotyping, deep molecular genetic assessment of the microbiome, and 15N stable isotope tracing to assess the influence of maize root phenotypes on the root-associated microbiome and its combined effect on fertilizer nitrogen uptake efficiency under low nitrogen availability. Such information will be useful to inform future plant breeding programs targeting root phenes and microbiomes and reduce the reliance on agrochemicals in the context of sustainable agriculture.