Danning worked in her project on genetic basis and environmental regulation of root-microbiome associations in maize.

Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi help to promote the health and function of plant roots. It is commonly assumed that the composition of these microbes is dependent on the properties of the soil. However, an international team of researchers led by the University of Bonn has now discovered when studying different local varieties of maize that the genetic makeup of the plants also helps to influence which microorganisms cluster around the roots. The results, which have now been published in the prestigious journal Nature Plants, could help to breed future varieties of maize that are better suited to drought and limited nutrients.

Prof. Alexander Lipka from the University of Illinois will give a talk with the title “Lipka Lab: addressing key challenges of crop sciences through quantitative genetics”.

Prof. Hans Lambers from University of Western Australia, Honorary Professor, China Agricultural University on "Carboxylate-releasing phosphorus-mobilising strategies are pervasive in phosphorus-impoverished landscapes". Please find his classical and pioneering work on root ecology and root function (https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/hans-lambers).

With an joint effort, we harvested over 1500 rhizosphere samples within two days! We are now curious about what microbes do such soil contain and what functions do they play in such poor soil.

Prof. Zhongtao Jia from China Agricultural University (CAU) on "Hormonal regulation of root nitrogen foraging responses in plants". Prof. Jia did his postdoc with Prof. Nicolaus von Wirén in Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK Gatersleben, Germany). He is mainly interested on molecular mechanisms underlying nitrogen signaling on root development. His research topics include the identification of molecular regulators and genetic allelic variants determining nutrient use efficiency in the aspect of root development and nutrient acquisition.

In collaboration with Fujian Agricultural University (China), we published a research article on Nature Communications and we found that specific soil microorganisms Flavobacteriaceae and Paenibacillaceae bacteria can promote the formation of the rhizoshealth by biosynthesis of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA, a common auxin).

Prof. Jinliang Yang from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA on "Harnessing the naturally occurring beneficial microbes for N-resilient crop development". Prof. Yang is working on plant breeding and genetics, quantitative genetics, functional genomics in maize/crops.