- Tree Root Microbiome Project
Just as a piece of music is not solely dependent on the instrument or the musician but on how they work together to create harmony, the health or function of an organism is influenced by the dynamic interplay between its host and the diverse community of microorganisms inhabiting it. As such, this Research Area aims to look at the interaction between the host tree and its microbiome, and how the interaction alters the phenotype of the tree to drought tolerance.
- We are investigating if root microbiomes that have naturally adapted to drought in the environment can confer ‘ecological memory’ of drought tolerance to a naïve host tree. This work is being undertaken with programme partners at the Adelaide Plant Phenotyping Facility (APPF), Australia.
- To determine if root microbiomes can be ‘trained’ to be tolerant to drought via exposure to successive water stress limitation. This work is being conducted at the New Zealand Biotron facility with Partners at Lincoln University.
Explore the Tree Root Microbiome Project workstreams:
Tree Root Microbiome Project News
Identifying and sequencing new soil micro-organisms
Scion’s Lottie Armstrong is on the hunt for new soil micro-organisms to build understanding of life under the soil surface around the roots of radiata
Global connections in the tree root microbiome
The Tree Root Microbiome Project covers countries where radiata pine grows either naturally or as an introduced species. An international soil sampling initiative is underway:
Related searchable documents and reports
| Title | Date | Report Number | Author | Link | hf:doc_categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How similar are the root microbiomes of attenuata x radiata hybrid seedlings to pure species? | January 21, 2025 | TRMP-TN002 | Natalie Graham & Steve Wakelin (Scion) | tree-root-microbiome-project-public | |
| Pilot Study – Influence of host genetics on the root microbiome in BC52_1 – September 2022 | January 21, 2025 | TRMP-TN001 | Natalie Graham & Kaitlyn Daley (Scion) | tree-root-microbiome-project-public | |
| Conferring drought tolerance to Pinus radiata by altering root microbiome associations | January 16, 2025 | TRMP-TN003 | Steve Wakelin (Scion) | tree-root-microbiome-project-public |
