Dr. Alexey Grum-Grzhimaylo

Some soil microbes can help battle plants against diseases caused by other microorganisms. Active recruitment of beneficial microbes to the plant roots is one of the mechanisms of this defense phenomenon. However, it is unknown how the root microbial community behaves when a plant is infected with a virus. Although some pre-isolated pure bacterial and fungal strains are known to elicit defense of plants against viruses, the active recruitment of beneficial microbes from the bulk soil community is under question. In our group, we study the feedbacks between root microbiome, a plant, and a virus infecting this plant. Specifically, we are interested whether a systemic virus infection of a plant causes shifts in the community structure of root microbes, and if so, whether these shifts are adaptive for the plant.