Seminar of the Department of Microbiology

MSc Student Session 4

Lena Ewald - University of Innsbruck, Supervisor: Nadine Präg, AG Illmer, Soil Microbiology and Ecophysiology

Laura Larcher - University of Innsbruck, Supervisor: Nadine Präg, AG Illmer, Soil Microbiology and Ecophysiology

15.12.2022, 11:00 - Hybrid - Join online - or in presence: Seminarraum Mikrobiologie (Bauteil V)

Abstracts

Ewald: Interactions between cereal leaf beetles and endophytic bacteria of barley

Oulema melanopus, also known as cereal leaf beetle, is a widespread pest of various cereals, being the larval stage more damaging than the adult beetle. Larval feeding on cereal leaves causes major agricultural damage. The microbiota of cereal leaf beetle has so far only been roughly described, although previous studies showed that the microbiota of the cereal leaf beetle affects the plant.

Thus, the aim of this master thesis is to describe the microbiota of cereal leaf larvae and to detect if and to what extent a microbial transfer occurs from the larvae to the plants. Therefore, larvae were collected on open ground as well as on Hordeum vulgare leaves with and without eating damages. Additionally, Hordeum vulgare plants are inoculated with larvae in greenhouse experiments and in all cases possible effects were investigated by using both cultivation and amplicon sequencing analysis.

Larcher: Impact of climate change on endophytic microorganisms in barley roots (presentation in German)

Extreme weather events such as droughts have been predicted to increase within the near future and so climate change will most likely threaten agricultural production. Plants live in close relationship with microorganisms and endophytic microorganisms are known to play an essential role in plant resilience to abiotic and biotic stresses. The effect of drought stress on endophytic microorganisms in the roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare) is investigated in this master thesis. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at the research farm of the University of Innsbruck in Imst (Austria) and a drought scenario was simulated by building a rain shelter. In addition to the determination of agronomic properties, soil samples were investigated for physical, chemical and microbiological parameters. Centrally, roots of barley were collected for cultivation-based and cultivation-independent investigations targeting the endophytic microbiota and its response upon drought stress.