Sietske van Bentum, Council member

About my research

Communication between plants and microbes has fascinated me since my early studies in Biology at Utrecht University. How can such different organisms interact, counteract, and influence each other with profound effects on plant and microbe survival? And how can we leverage these interactions to benefit the host plant?

I became a bachelor student, master student, PhD candidate, and now postdoc researcher in the Plant-Microbe Interactions group, exploring various aspects of this broad research topic. My work has ranged from studying the effects of coumarins on plant-beneficial bacteria and pathogenic fungi, to examining how disease alters the root microbiome of field-grown soybean, and currently, to identifying genes in wheat that influence the recruitment of plant-growth-promoting soil bacteria. Microbiomics, metagenomics and bioinformatics play an important role in my research.

Since January 2026, I have been part of the EPS Postdoc Council, hoping to contribute to a strong, collaborative network of postdocs in Dutch plant sciences.