“The revolution in plant microbiome research provides unique opportunities for sustainable agriculture.”
Corné Pieterse is professor Plant-Microbe Interactions and scientific director of the Institute of Environmental Biology of the Faculty of Science. His research group investigates how the plant immune system protects plants against microbial pathogens and insect herbivores, and how beneficial microbes in the plant root microbiome stimulates plant growth and health. In 2022, Corné Pieterse and his team received the Spinoza Prize. Worldwide, plant diseases and pests cause yield losses of up to 25%. With their research, the Plant-Microbe Interactions group aims to contributes to grand societal challenges, such as food security and sustainable agriculture.
Chair
Plant-Microbe Interactions - In nature, plants are attacked by a multitude of pathogens and pests. Beneficial associations with mutualistic microbes are abundant in nature as well, improving plant growth or aiding plants to overcome stress. The Plant-Microbe Interactions group aims to unravel how the plant immune system orchestrates interactions with beneficial microbes, pathogens and insects, and to provide a rational basis for developing sustainable strategies for disease resistance in crops.
Inaugural lecture date
18.10.2005