Role of camalexin and sulfur nutrition in microbial assembly

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During the first funding period of the SPP DECRyPT a great progress has been made in the knowledge of composition of rhizospheric microbiomes and their dynamics. There is clear evidence that plants shape microbiome structures, most probably by root exudates, and also that bacteria have developed various adaptations to thrive in the rhizospheric niche. We have contributed to this knowledge by identification of camalexin as one of the metabolites affecting the interaction of Arabidopsis plants with individual bacterial strains as well as the microbiome function. We have identified a gene affecting camalexin synthesis and exudation and the outcome of cocultivations with bacteria. We also showed that these outcomes are dependent on sulfur availability. In this project we will determine how camalexin affects microbial function and how shoots and roots communicate to control its synthesis and exudation. Using manipulations of plant and microbial sulfate assimilation we will establish whether and how sulfur nutrition contributes to control of microbiome assembly.