Effect of genetic perturbations on spatial heterogeneity and co-occurrence patterns in the maize mycorrhizosphere microbiota interacting with soil

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This project focuses on a complex trait relevant to terrestrial life: the triad of plant-microbiota-soil interactions with mutual adaptation of interacting partners, the complexity of which is far from being fully understood. Our goal is to first elucidate how the microbiota associated with mycorrhizal maize is shaped by genotype and environment, and then use reductionist approaches to uncover the existing interdependencies and molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions in the mycorrhizosphere (MZ). Only if this complex trait can be dissected to reveal the precise genetic variations that led to its formation can the MZ system be reconstructed and targeted for breeding novel plants with improved traits to benefit the crop and improve soil quality.The project will investigate how plant factors involved in plant-soil interactions and plant performance influence root-microbiota-soil interdependence in the MZ system at macro and micro levels. Maize genotypes that exhibit genetic perturbations of the system will be used. The overarching hypothesis is that nutritional and metabolic interactions between host plants and their microbiota are determined by the MZ propagating spatial chemical gradients across the root-soil continuum, leading to shifts in the plant-associated microbiota and thus affecting host plant performance. We are particularly interested in (1) investigating the feedback loops underlying microbial community assembly and dynamics in the arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and the MZ, (2) further elucidating interactions with soil quality (water and nutrient content) and host plant performance and the role of microbiota, and (3) examining how microbiota associated with AM symbiosis influence plant-soil relationships. This will include the relationships between AM, its microbiota, soil and leaf water potential, transpiration rates, and phosphate and drought stress tolerance.