Objective
We need to increase the crop yield while reducing pesticide and use of inorganic fertiliser to meet the challenges of world population growth and climate change. Plant endophytic microorganisms can improve plant yield and enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stress as well as to pathogens under experimental conditions, but these effects are often not sufficiently stable for practical application. How do we boost the stability and reliability of the positive effects of endophytes on plants? We need to understand the genetic basis of beneficial interactions between crops and endophytes and extent this basis exhibits phenotypic plasticity at all interaction levels from the cellular to the field environment. This requires increasing our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of endophytes, including intra and inter-kingdom exchange and distribution of resources (nutrients), signalling and possibly regulation between and inside the partners, the mutual induced production of secondary metabolites and the environmental cues which influence crop-endophyte interactions. The genetic variation and its plasticity in host and microbe will be exploited in to establish crop breeding and inoculum production processes for boosting the establishment and stability of plant-microbe mutualisms to benefit crop development, stress tolerance, pathogen resistance and quality. In this project we will provide fundamental biological as well as practical knowledge about interactions between endophytes and plants. This improved understanding will pave the way for increased use of endophytes to improve sustainability and plant productivity in a reliable way. The participants in this project comprise many of the key institutions and industries working with these problems and provide a uniquely strong consortium to address the key issues. Furthermore, the consortium will train a new generation of scientists who have the insight and skills to continue this task in their careers.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesethologybiological interactions
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureindustrial cropsfodder
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycology
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
MSCA-ITN-ETN - European Training NetworksCoordinator
1165 Kobenhavn
Denmark
Participants (11)
1012WX Amsterdam
14979 Grossbeeren
8000 Aarhus C
28006 Madrid
29465 Schnega
87100 Torun
1210 Wien
4000 Roskilde
8010 Graz
12489 Berlin
8010 Graz
Partners (5)
6708 PB Wageningen
48170 Zamudio
4442 Palmerston North
8010 Graz
8010 Graz