Webinar - Plants and their underground friends and enemies - why soil in the root zone matters
Wednesday, 21st January, 4pm to 5pm (UK time) - in Microsoft Teams.
Plant roots live in intimate association with diverse microbial communities which can have major impacts on their health, growth, and productivity. Healthy plant roots secrete exudates, particularly sugars and organic acids into the soil, driving the selective growth of microbes in the soil immediately adjacent to roots, and the recruitment of microbes onto the root surface and within the root itself. The microbes which reside in roots and the soil surrounding roots constitutes the ‘rhizosphere microbiome’. This can influence plant health through diverse direct and indirect interactions.
The webinar will include discussion of the factors which influence the diversity and composition of the rhizosphere microbiome, including the importance of environmental factors such as soil, crop genotype, and management practices, particularly rotation. Evidence linking microbiome composition to crop yields will be explored. Recent research has uncovered a number of globally widespread root fungal endophytes, and Prof Bending will provide an overview of his group's work in this area and how it changes our understanding of the characteristics of a healthy plant microbiome.
Professor Gary Bending is Professor of Environmental Microbiology and Deputy Head of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick. His research focuses on the structure and function of microbial communities, with a particular interest in the plant rhizosphere.
To attend please register below and a Teams link will be forwarded prior to the event.
BASIS points have been applied for.
