Decoding the secret language of soils: chemical signalling in the rhizosphere and its effects on plant health

Duncan Cameron, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of Manchester.

Abstract :

“Despite the staggering technological achievements of agriculture, we owe our entire existence on this planet to a six-inch layer of soil and the fact that it rains”.  The soil is the foundation of most terrestrial life on the Earth yet soil as a resource and its staggering complexity is often ignored, undervalued and underappreciated, non more so than the amazing array of organisms that make soil their home. The soil is a repository of information as well as an information super highway where signals are exchange between the soil organisms including plants, animals and microbes. These, usually chemical, signals have been hard to detect and to decode but advances in analytical methodologies, both biochemical and statistical, now allow us to eaves drop on these conversations as never before. Here I have select some examples of how soil organisms communicate with each other and the wider consequences of those conversations for soil ecosystems.

Biography :

Duncan Cameron is professor of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Manchester. He is an environmental microbiologist/biological chemist and his research seeks to understand how soil microbes enhance plant nutrition and health in the context of sustainable agriculture and global food security. He has held prestigious UK and international fellowships including a Royal Society University Research Fellowship along with international fellowships in Germany and Australia.