Plant Microbiomes for a Resilient Future
Although you may not see them, microbes are integral to all areas of life. Collectively known as the plant microbiome, the microbes that colonize plants perform critical roles in ecosystem function and plant health. But how will these microbial services and plant-microbe interactions change in a warming climate? Understanding three-way interactions between plants, microbiota, and the environment is critical for our ability to ensure food security in a changing climate. Throughout this course, students will use current literature to examine major questions and recent advances in microbiome science. We will focus primarily on bacterial and fungal microbiome members to gain an understanding of methods to study microbial communities and their functions across plant niches and species.
Topics
- Describe the basic structure of microbiome communities in plants across different plant niches, species, and in various environmental conditions.
- Explain how microbiome community composition influences plant traits (such as disease susceptibility, stress tolerance, and growth).
- Interpret and critically evaluate plant microbiome data presented in primary literature by assessing 1) data collection methods, 2) identifying limitations and biases in methods, and 3) drawing evidence-based conclusions.
- Formulate scientific questions and design experiments to test hypotheses in microbiome sciences in the form of a presentation.
- Evaluate impacts of climate change on plant microbiomes and associated impacts in agriculture.
- Integrate concepts across bacterial and fungal communities and across plant species to compare plant microbiomes in controlled, natural, and agricultural systems.
- Synthesize current understanding of plant-microbiome science and design a proposal to expand knowledge in the field.
Official roster learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027