Dr. Angela Sessitsch (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH) (online)

As guest of the CRC 1182

Dr. Angela Sessitsch

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH
Center for Health & Bioresources
Microbe-assisted Crop Production

Talks about:

The plant microbiome: from rhizosphere to seeds and applications to improve crop performance

The plant microbiome is considered as an accessory genome for plant providing complementary functions to their host such as nutrient mobilization and acquisition or functions to better cope with biotic and abiotic stresses. Different plant compartments from the rhizosphere to seeds host diverse microbiomes, which are shaped by soil, host and environment. Furthermore, a number of microorganisms has been identified and selected for application as biofertilizer, plant strengthener or biopesticide and benefits seen in lab and greenhouse trials are highly promising. Nevertheless, field application remains a challenge. Reasons for this include the extreme complexity of plantassociated microbiota with which an inoculant strain has to compete or the poor availability of suitable delivery approaches for microbial inoculants. Furthermore, still mechanistic understanding on plant-microbe interactions or on holobiont interactions is missing. Ecological understanding, science-driven product development and smart delivery approaches are likely to improve plant microbiome applications and will pave the way to the integration of microbiome functions in smart agricultural systems. In this talk different aspects on microbiome understanding and the use of new application approaches will be presented. Also, an overview of the EU-funded Coordination and Support Action MICROBIOMESUPPORT targeting food systems microbiomes will be given.

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting:
https://uni-kiel.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5EsfuutqjIrGtYUPaFPkxrTHIScsl7fXyvS