'Smelly' thesis defence on volatiles in soil ecology
There was something a bit smelly about today's successful thesis defence by NIOO microbial ecologist Kristin Schulz-Bohm. If it wasn't her baby's diapers (!), it may well have been the topic: the thesis provides interesting new insights about the ecological importance of smells in the complex soil ecosystem.
As the short film 'The Scent of Soil' that Kristin Schulz-Bohm and her fellow researchers made about the topic underlines, scent is really important belowground. Micro-organisms communicate with each other all the time, as well as with (a bit) bigger species such as protists and plants.
But what we know about the importance of such 'smelly' (i.e. volatile-mediated) conversations for the functioning of the belowground ecosystem is still limited. Research was mostly carried out under artificial instead of ecologically relevant conditions.
Who is interacting with whom?
In her thesis defence, Schulz-Bohm emphasised that the mix and biological activity of microbial volatiles released in soil is strongly dependent on who is there, and who is interacting with whom.
She also demonstrates in her thesis that volatiles can be important long-distance messengers for soil microbes, providing information about suitable food sources or - in case of bacteria-protist-interactions - about suitable prey.
Garbeva Group
Kristin Schulz-Bohm is the last of three PhD students to graduate on this subject. Within the research group led by Paolina Garbeva, all three studied the role of volatile organic compounds in microbial interactions in the soil.
More about Schulz-Bohm's work and the importance of smells can be found here:
- Long-distance love: plants seduce bacteria with smells
- Sniffing out your dinner in the dark: how miniature predators get their favourite soil bacteria.
- Thesis: The Ecological Role of Volatile Mediated Interactions Belowground, Kristin Schulz-Bohm. Wageningen University, 8 May 2018. Promotor: Wietse de Boer (NIOO-KNAW), co-promotor: Paolina Garbeva (NIOO-KNAW).
