Investigating the ecological functioning of the plant phyllosphere microbiome in the context of circadian biology.

Healthy plants, like all higher organisms, host an extensive microbiome which contain both beneficial and pathogenic species. A major driver of microbiome assembly is by the release of exudates from the plant which can attract microbes into the roots from the surrounding soil, which can then travel to other areas of the plant. These microbes play important roles in plant health including disease protection, plant growth, and overall plant functioning through factors such as improving nutrient availability and resilience to abiotic stress. This project will focus on characterising the relationship between the plant and phyllosphere microbiome through time, as well as the relationship between the various microbial species that make up this complex environment. The project will fully characterise these dynamics via a metabarcoding approach to analyse the impact of time of day on the community structure and composition. Understanding the dynamic nature of the plant-microbe interactions will be important for our understanding and monitoring of ecosystem health in the context of climate change and the effects of pollution or in the oversight of ecosystem recovery following anthropogenic disruption. The knowledge will also be important for the development of new integrated pest management strategies in support of sustainable agriculture.