Sophie Vijverberg, council member

About my research

Beneficial microbes in the microbiome of plants can serve as their allies, by stimulating plant growth and enhancing defense against pathogens. These beneficial microbes are collectively referred to as plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). The PGPR Pseudomonas simiae WCS417 can colonize Arabidopsis thaliana roots, resulting in morphological changes in both its roots and shoots. These changes include an increase in shoot fresh weight, alongside an increase in primary root length and the number of lateral roots. It has been established that not all Arabidopsis accessions respond equally to WCS417; the morphological changes in some accessions are much more pronounced than in others. This indicates natural variation in the ability of Arabidopsis to benefit from an interaction with WCS417.

The aim of my project is to improve our understanding of what Arabidopsis genes are important in its response to WCS417. We expect to find candidate genes by conducting a Genome-wide association study (GWAS) on a large collection of natural Arabidopsis accessions. I will use the high-throughput imaging facilities from NPEC to generate the large amount of phenotypic data required for the GWAS. My research may contribute to the development of future crops optimized in benefiting from the positive effect from PGPR’s.