Impact of plant-microbe interactions in the phyllosphere on terrestrial ecosystem functions

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Plant-associated microbial communities play a key role in plant physiology, metabolism, and plant species coexistence. The summed area of the phyllosphere (i.e., aerial surfaces of plants, including leaves) is estimated at ~ 4 x 108 km2 globally and is colonized by a great diversity of microorganisms including bacteria, archaea, viruses, and micro-eukaryotes. Yet, very few studies have provided an integrative inter-kingdom (i.e. beyond bacterial communities) perspective of plant-microbe interactions and their role in driving terrestrial ecosystem functions such as productivity or resilience to global change. My work has demonstrated that tree leaf microbial diversity can influence plant ecosystem productivity, hinting at an unexpectedly important role for leaf microbes in terrestrial ecosystem functions. The bio-engineering of host-microbe interactions has the potential to shape the future of agriculture, silviculture, and medicine, but much remains to be done to understand and manipulate the processes driving plant-microbe interactions. The long-term goal of this research program is to identify and manipulate the mechanisms by which plant-microbe interactions support key terrestrial ecosystem functions such as resilience to global change, productivity, and resistance to foliar diseases. The short-term objectives are to (1) characterize the temporal changes in leaf microbial communities; (2) quantify the effects of abiotic stresses (e.g. nutrient limitation) on plant-microbe interactions and their feedbacks on plant productivity; and finally (3) manipulate synthetic microbial inocula to improve plant resistance to foliar diseases. By using a combination of observational and manipulative experiments with synthetic microbiota, my research program will provide a unique mechanistic understanding of plant-microbe interactions, which is key to developing microbial bio-engineering tools to improve plant resistance to foliar diseases and reduce the use of chemicals that threaten public health. This original research program proposes a unique exploration of microbial community response to changes in abiotic conditions, therefore offering a ground-breaking resolution of the roles of host-microbe interactions for ecosystem functions in a changing climate. In light of the socio-economic value of trees and of the negative impacts of agricultural chemicals on human population health, developing an alternative to improve resilience to global change and fight foliar diseases is an important research priority. My research program will test the prediction of key ecological theories that have applications in agriculture and forestry, and will allow for more accurate forecasting of the impacts of global change scenarios on terrestrial ecosystem functions. The results of this program will benefit scholars from various research domains (e.g. microbiology, plant biology), plant producers (e.g. agriculture, silviculture), as well as public health.