Purdue College of Agriculture joins International Phytobiomes Alliance

Story by Jillian Ellison

Photos by Tom Campbell

September 13, 2023

Purdue’s College of Agriculture, a global leader in agricultural and biological engineering, food systems and natural resource sciences, recently joined the International Alliance for Phytobiomes Research.

The International Phytobiomes Alliance coordinates global research projects on phytobiomes to accelerate the sustainable production of food, feed and fiber.

Roland Wilhelm, assistant professor of agronomy, and Laramy Enders, associate professor of entomology will represent Purdue in the alliance. Wilhelm joins the Alliance Coordinating Committee and the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Working Group, tasked with identifying major challenges and opportunities that could be addressed through phytobiomes research. Enders joins the Microbiome Working Group, focused on identifying knowledge and resource gaps that need to be addressed to advance understanding of the role microbes play within the broad phytobiome systems and how this information can improve agricultural sustainability.

As a sponsoring member of the International Phytobiomes Alliance, new opportunities are available for Purdue researchers to showcase cutting-edge research and to engage with companies as they work to improve food security and sustainability.

“Working with the International Phytobiomes Alliance supports our efforts to understand the complex interactions between plants, microbes and the environment to improve crops and build better indoor and urban cultivation systems,” Wilhelm said. “Purdue Applied Microbiome Sciences is home to diverse faculty research programs studying the role of phytobiomes in soils, insects, controlled environments and human health. Our partnership provides a platform to share our latest research and to harvest the latest insights.”

With the Purdue Applied Microbiome Sciences team spread across multiple departments, Wilhelm said the International Phytobiomes Alliance is eager to welcome others into the conversations and collaborations unfolding within the research community.

Faculty interested in more information on the Purdue Applied Microbiomes Sciences interdisciplinary community can join the list-serv at Purdue-phytobiomes@groups.purdue.edu.

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