[AGRIFOOD] Do mycorrhizal fungi facilitate root defence signalling in belowground predator-prey interactions?

确保英国未来的粮食安全将依赖于将作物产量提高到2000年。到2070年达到70%。实现这些生产目标将取决于在新的农药立法使害虫管理变得越来越具有挑战性的时候减少害虫造成的作物损失。因此，源自植物的抗性，特别是增强这种作物抗性的多物种相互作用，可能是非常宝贵的。本项目的目的是开发一个可持续的生物控制系统，葡萄象鼻虫（Oakhynchus sulcatus）的模式多年生作物（红树莓;悬钩子）使用的组合丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）和昆虫病原线虫。越来越多的证据表明，针对地下攻击的根部防御十分重要，包括对攻击者的直接有害影响和招募对抗者（即间接防御）。根防御信号的特点是现在才在一些植物物种，但没有什么是已知的AMF社区如何影响这些过程，尽管有很好的证据AMF普遍增加抗根草食动物。特别是，我们假设AMF物种的一些组合将直接或间接地促进根系防御。拟议的研究将确定影响根系防御信号的关键AMF物种，并研究食根象鼻虫幼虫对这些物种的各种组合的反应。RHUL（Gange教授）和SCRI-MLURI（约翰逊、班尼特和道森博士）之间的合作将使学生能够进行最先进的代谢组学分析和原位根系分泌模式的测量，以获得对抗性的机械理解。最有希望的AMF组合将与线虫一起进行测试，以确定提供最大水平的象鼻虫控制。该项目与NERC食品和农业优先领域（AGRIFOOD）密切相关，并涉及欧洲主要植物育种者之一（SCRI，一家慈善担保有限公司）作为CASE合作伙伴。特别是，该项目结合了英国领先的生物系之一（RHUL）的基础环境研究和世界软果生产，生态和保护领导者之一（SCRI）的应用专业知识。

Ensuring future food security in the UK will rely on increasing crop production by c. 70% by 2070. Meeting these production goals will depend on reducing crop losses to insect pests at a time when new pesticide legislation makes pest management increasingly challenging. Plant derived resistance, and particularly multi-species interactions that enhance such crop resistance, could therefore be invaluable. The aim of this project is to develop a sustainable biological control system for vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) in a model perennial crop (red raspberry; Rubus idaeus) using a combination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and entomopathogenic nematodes. Increasing evidence points to the importance of root defences against belowground attack, including directly detrimental effects on the attacker and the recruitment of antagonists (i.e. indirect defence). Root defence signalling is only now being characterised in some plant species, but nothing is known about how AMF communities influence these processes despite good evidence for AMF generally increasing resistance to root herbivory. In particular, we hypothesise that some combinations of AMF species will facilitate root defences either directly or indirectly. The proposed research will identify key AMF species that influence root defence signalling and examine the responses of root-feeding weevil larvae to various combinations of these species. The collaboration between RHUL (Prof. Gange) and SCRI-MLURI (Drs Johnson, Bennett and Dawson) will allow the student to perform state of the art metabolomic profiling and measurement of in situ root exudation patterns, to gain a mechanistic understanding of the resistance. The most promising combinations of AMF will then be tested in conjunction with nematodes, to identify that which provides maximum levels of weevil control. This project is strongly aligned with the NERC CASE Priority area of Food and Agriculture (AGRIFOOD) and involves one of Europes main plant breeders (SCRI, a charitable company limited by guarantee) as the CASE partner. In particular, the project combines fundamental environmental research at one of the UK's leading biology departments (RHUL) with applied expertise at one of the world leaders in soft fruit production, ecology and protection (SCRI).