TY  - CONF
AU  - Mau, Lisa
AU  - Kant, Josefine
AU  - Klose, Holger
AU  - Kuchendorf, Christina
AU  - Nedbal, Ladislav
AU  - Roessner, Ute
AU  - Watt, Michelle
TI  - The effects of algae fertilizer on wheat root morphology elucidated using modeling, phenotyping and metabolomics
M1  - FZJ-2020-00446
PY  - 2019
AB  - One of the big challenges facing humanity is securing food and feed for future generations in a sustainable bioeconomy. The way fertilizer is used today aims at high yields without adequately considering the needs of plants and the preservation of our environment. The microalgae Chlorella vulgaris has been successfully used as a vector system to recycle phosphorus. Our group found additionally that C. vulgaris can fertilize wheat and modify the root architecture. The underlying mechanisms have not yet been investigated, and as a consequence, we hypothesize that: (1) nutrients from algae are available to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) root uptake; (2) roots respond to algae fertilizer with changes in root architecture and morphology that are different to conventional fertilizer; and (3) active response of roots to algal nutrients is reflected in an alternate mode of nutrient uptake. We are analyzing single plants in highly controlled microenvironments that allow the direct observation of morphological changes at the root micro- and macroscales. Simultaneously, we quantify changes in the phosphate pools released and transformed from algal components into the medium, their uptake from the medium, and their incorporation into the plant. These dynamics will allow the identification of the fertilizing phosphate components of the algal biomass. Their separation into different organic and inorganic fractions will allow the identification of the specific components available to root uptake. Effects of components on roots and the plant’s nutrition will be assessed by metabolomics. We are using the genetic model for wheat, Brachypodium distachyon, because it is suited to phenotyping, genotyping and interpretation of metabolomics. A better understanding of the interface between algal nutrients and the root may enable future agricultural applications with sustainable use of algal biomass after it has been mined for other valuable compounds.
T2  - Rhizosphere 5
CY  - 7 Jul 2019 - 11 Jul 2019, Saskatoon (Kanada)
Y2  - 7 Jul 2019 - 11 Jul 2019
M2  - Saskatoon, Kanada
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)24
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/872990
ER  -