Seminar by M. J. Doktycz

Seminar by:

M. J. Doktycz, Ph.D.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
USA
 

Abstract:

Understanding the interfaces between organisms is key to realizing their functional roles in biological and environmental systems. The beneficial association of plants and microbes exemplifies a complex, multiorganism system that is shaped by the participating organisms and the environmental forces acting upon it. The interfaces between these diverse species can benefit plant health and biomass production by affecting nutrient uptake, influencing plant hormone signaling, inducing catabolism of toxic compounds, or conferring resistance to pathogens. Plants and microbes function together to effect remediation processes, manage global carbon cycling, and offer alternative energy solutions.  Practical extrapolation of the roles of organisms in complex natural settings will require understanding the correlations between genetic characteristics of the organisms involved and how information, energy and materials are proportioned and exchanged between them. Numerous challenges are associated with understanding the interfaces between plants and microbes.  Identifying and characterizing the diverse organisms involved and dissecting the molecular based exchanges and genetically derived responses are just a few of the issues that must be addressed.  Micro- and nanoscale technologies are well suited for aiding these investigations.  Microfabrication techniques allow for the construction of mechanical and fluidic devices that are ideal for manipulating materials at the molecular and cellular level.  Further, such structures can facilitate sampling and analysis of small quantities. By matching the functional scale of biology, structures fabricated at the nanoscale allow additional capabilities. This presentation will highlight several uses of micro- and nanotechnologies that are being developed for studying different aspects of the plant-microbe interface.  Devices that enable the parallel, microscale culture and characterization of individual members of a microbial community, tools that facilitate the analysis of bacterial motility and synthetic systems that mimic functional aspects of the biological cell will be highlighted. Progress related to the development and application of these technologies will be presented.