| Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is probably the most important terrestrial symbiosis. AM fungi (AMF) supply the majority of land plants with nutrients and confer resistance against various stresses. Therefore, their exploitation is of high environmental relevance and economic value. Although demanded for safer food production, mass-production of AMF inoculum for in-field-use is still prone to contamination, and species cannot be identified. Consequently, quality control is problematic and traceability in the agro-environment impossible.
Our objective is to overcome the two major limitations of broad-scale exploitation of AMF, (1) quality of inoculum ? by developing bioreactor-cultivation and molecular identification tools, (2) ascertainment of plant-beneficial effects ? by developing in-field molecular tracing tools. Molecular identification tools will be developed as quality control system for mass-production of AMF inoculum, and eventually for the within-field molecular traceability of AMF using phylochips.
TRACEAM joins leading experts' knowledge about key technologies for AM research, as there are 1) ROC system as the most advanced culture system, which will be the platform for development of bioreactors and molecular tools, 2) DNA barcodes as identification tools based on specific sequences, which will constitute the base for the molecular identification of AMF, also for quality control, 3) DNA microarrays ('phylochips') construction (based on up to seven 'standard genes'), which will allow the detection of the active AMF community in the field, 4) the obligate symbiotic endobacteria (>400 myr old 'integral components' of AMF), which will be traced by phylochips to elucidate their role as targets for tracing and other aspects.
Four PhD students will be hosted in institutes in Germany, Belgium, France and Italy. They get offered an intense, high quality, and international training program including long-term visits in the collaborating laboratories. |