Project 10 - Engineering plant-beneficial microbiota

Applying for Summer 2025

Supervisors: Dr Sarah Guiziou and Elena Garcia Perez

Introduction: Plants and microbes communicate with each other and these interactions ultimately impact plant growth. Plant-beneficial bacteria, such as Pseudomonas and Bacillus, colonise plant roots and promote growth, by, for example, improving nutrient availability and modifying phytohormone production. Plant-microbe interactions are affected by climate change, due to changes within the plant, the soil, and the environment. A healthy plant microbiome can increase crop yield while minimising the use of agrochemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides. Engineering plant microbiomes therefore has the potential to rapidly and sustainably improve plant health.

Aim: This project aims to develop synthetic genetic circuits in plant-beneficial bacteria to engineer plant-microbe interactions. We will focus on the development of integrase-based switches which allow the recording of signals of interest and the engineering of bacteria phenotype in response to plant signals.

Dr Guiziou with other researchers previously developed and applied this technology to implement logic circuits in Escherichia coli and to track gene expression during root development in Arabidopsis thaliana. While this technology works in a wide range of organisms, genetic parts must be characterised and optimised to obtain specific and reliable switches in plant-beneficial bacteria. We are focusing on Bacillus subtilis, the gram-positive bacteria model and are currently developing an automated high-throughput workflow to characterise libraries of integrase switches in B. subtilis.

Objectives: The intern will develop a specific and reliable integrase switch responding to a molecule of interest (e.g. molecule present in the soil or produced by the plant) using this workflow. While having their ownership in the project, they will be trained and supported by the postdoctoral researcher, who is developing this workflow and will be working in parallel at developing integrase switches responding to other molecules

Skills gained: The scholar will be trained in molecular and synthetic biology, automation, data analysis, microbiology and flow cytometry techniques. They will have training opportunities in oral communication and will take part in lab meetings and institute seminars.