WEES Seminar and Workshop – Britt Koskella

Venue: C3040 Orion building, Workshop
C3030 Orion building, Seminar
Speaker: Britt Koskella, Assistant Professor, Department of integrative Biology, UC Berkeley (US)

The plant phyllosphere is an ideal system in which to examine the assembly, structure, and function of host-associated microbiomes. In this talk I will present our recent work exploring the role of the plant microbiome in shaping disease susceptibility, the impact that bacteriophages can have on these microbial communities, and the impact of phages on plant pathogens directly. I will discuss the importance of taking phages into account as we move forward in incorporating the microbiome into a more holistic view of organismal health.

Workshop
The (plant) microbiome: what we know we don’t know
Using the readings as a launching point, we will discuss the current open questions in the study of plant-associated microbiomes and outline the key areas where development and testing of new theory might be particularly informative.

The workshop for those interested is organized from 13:30 to 15:00 in room C3040, Orion building. Registration is required (space limited to 15), email Mark Zwart. The workshop gives attendees the possibility to meet the speaker of the seminar and have a discussion based on recent publications. The workshops are a good possibility to get acquainted with hot topics in science and to learn how to discuss these topics with leading scientists in the field. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops.

Thursday, May 16, 2019
Times workshop: 13:30 Time seminar: 16:00
WUR – Orion
Bronland 1, Wageningen