MASS SPECTROSCOPY IMAGING OF PLANT-FUNGI INTERACTIONS: UNDERSTANDING SYMBIOSIS FOR SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION

The aim of this project is to understand how plants supply lipids to AM fungi, what type of lipids they use and how this process is regulated. To do this we will combine plant molecular genetic approaches with high spatial-resolution mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), using state-of-the-art MSI instrumentation at Swansea University. MSI has not been used previously to study AM symbiosis, but this technique has the power to measure the lipid composition of individual root cells harbouring arbuscules. This work will provide foundation knowledge of nutrient exchange in AM symbiosis that can inform new approaches to achieve more sustainable crop production.