Recording microbial signals in soil microbiomes

This project address the key ecological question: “What are the roles of microbe-produced signals in mediating the assembly, dynamics, and functional behaviors of soil microbiomes”? The answers are important not only for understanding the ecology of soil microbiomes, but also for development of new ways to unleash the beneficial, functional potential of native microbiomes for sustainable crop production. Here, we engineer microbes to record microbiome signaling processes in situ and apply this tool to determine signaling dynamics in natural, plant-beneficial soil microbiomes. Our approach has the potential to advance current ecological theories of soil microbiology, and to open up new avenues for ‘microbiome engineering’ in agriculture.