Eat in or eat out? The role of plant communities for microbial metabolic activity

Plant community composition has a large influence on microbial community composition. Recently, we have shown that peatland plant functional groups are associated to specific microbial communities (J Ecol 103:925-94). What is not understood is if plants create an environment that selects for microbial communities that specialize on plant-specific resources (i.e. exudates or plant litter). As a first step, this project will study the link between plant species composition and the microbial community. A close plant-microbe link could entail microbial specialisation (i.e. adaptation) on plant-specific resources, causing negative priming, ultimately increasing the robustness of the peatland carbon sink capacity. The absence of specific plant-microbe links could indicate the microbes are generalists, suggesting the plant community to not impact the carbon sink-strength. This PhD project is structured to first determine the link between plant community (functional) composition and the microbiome at a molecular level. Next, the project aims to assess the functional identity of peatland microbial communities, and will address the question as to whether the latter are functionally adapted to the local, plant-specific, conditions, irrespective of environmental context. This project will highlight how the presence or absence of specific plant-microbe linkages affects ecosystem processes, guiding peatland conservation strategies