Interspecies signaling in plant associated bacteria

Speaker: dr Vittorio Venturi (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB),Trieste, Italy)

Talk: Interspecies signaling in plant associated bacteria

Time: 08th March 2019, 9:00 am

Venue: Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Abrahama 58, hall 042

dr Vittorio Venturi graduated from Edinburgh University, UK, and received his Ph.D. degree in Microbiology from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. During his PhD research he focused in the regulation of iron-transport processes of beneficial plant associated bacteria which promote plant growth; the monopolization of iron nearby plant roots is an important trait which keeps microbial pathogens away. He then moved as a postdoctoral fellow to the International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy, where he started investigating intercellular signaling among bacteria. He then went on to become Group Leader at ICGEB continuing his studies on intercellular signaling. He has published over 140 research articles in peer-reviewed international journals. He is interested in (i) how plant associated bacteria undergo interspecies communication and interkingdom signaling with plants and (ii) plant microbiomes and the development of microbial products for a more sustainable agriculture https://www.icgeb.org/vittorio-venturi.html

Abstract: Just like what occurs in humans, plants have been recently recognized as meta-organisms possessing a distinct microbiome that have a close relationship with their associated microorganisms. The plant microbiome presents an additional reservoir of genes that the plant can have access to when needed. Plant health is thought to heavily depend also on its microbiome and signaling among microorganisms is crucial for the establishment of the microbial community. Understanding how bacteria undergo interspecies signaling in the microbiome will be a big challenge for future studies. We are using several rice diseases as a model of interspecies bacterial interactions, which also highlights their role in bacterial plant pathogenicity. In addition, we are designing experiments to begin to understand how beneficial plant associated bacteria communicate and establish multispecies communities. Understanding these signaling pathways will help in devising new ways for a more sustainable agriculture.