Project description
Untangling the complexity of plant microbiota interactions
Plants are hosts to a wide range of microorganisms, some of which play a beneficial role in enhancing the plants’ ability to defend themselves against pathogens. The phyllosphere, dominated by leaves, represents a habitat that harbours diverse microorganisms and has an important ecosystem function. While the genomes of many microbial communities have been sequenced, their collective role, properties and interactions remain largely elusive. Funded by the European Research Council, the PhyMo project aims to unravel the molecular basis of microbial communities in the phyllosphere, improving our understanding of microbe-host interactions and community assembly. Through a multidisciplinary approach, researchers will provide comprehensive insights into phyllosphere microbial biology and function.
Objective
Understanding processes in microbial communities is a crucial task given the impact of microbial communities on environmental systems, including plants and animals. There is a rapidly increasing number of microbial communities whose collective genomes have been determined; however, it is important to uncover their collective function and to understand how community properties emerge from the properties of individual microbial types and their interactions. One habitat that has been gaining growing interest is the phyllosphere, or the aerial parts of plants, which carry out the majority of terrestrial carbon dioxide fixation. There is a urgent need to better understand the microorganisms living in the phyllosphere and an increasing awareness of the importance of indigenous microbiota and their role in microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions for both plant growth and protection. This project aims to uncover the molecular basis shaping microbial communities in the phyllosphere in order to improve our functional understanding of microbial interaction in the context of the plant host and to unravel the principles of the formation of community pattern and function in situ. To reach these objectives, a reductionist approach will be used to generate and test new hypotheses regarding microbial interactions in phyllosphere communities. Synthetic, tractable microbial communities will be formulated and analyzed under gnotobiotic conditions. In situ community approaches will be developed and applied, while community genetics and experimental evolution will provide complementary perspectives on the community structure and function. These approaches will be mirrored by manipulating interactions on the host side through the use of plant mutants and ecotypes. Taken together, using multifaceted perspectives on microbial interactions in situ will allow unprecedented insights into the biology of bacteria living in the phyllosphere and their individual and collective function.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences meteorology biosphera
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry mass spectrometry
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2014-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.