Project properties

Title <b> Investigating recruitment of microorganisms by the plant to defend itself against insect herbivores
Group Entomology, Laboratory of
Project type thesis
Credits 24-36
Supervisor(s) Kris de Kreek MSc, dr. Karen Kloth
Examiner(s) prof. dr. Marcel Dicke
Contact info kris.dekreek@wur.nl
Begin date 2023/01/01
End date 2024/12/31
Description Insect feeding causes major crop losses every year. Therefore, it is of high importance to develop sustainable pest management strategies to be able to produce healthy and safe food. Through millions of years of evolution, plants have evolved many robust strategies to reduce insect feeding damage. Recently, it has been found that plants can ‘cry for help’ belowground to beneficial soil organisms to enhance its defence against insects. Upon herbivore feeding, plants can recruit microorganisms. These microorganisms may be able to induce systemic resistance in the plant against insects. However, it is unknown how different herbivore species affect microbiome recruitment, whether the plant itself benefits from the recruited microbes, and whether microbiome recruitment differs between different wild and cultivated cabbage accessions.

Your thesis will fit into this study system. For example, you will work with plants and insects in the greenhouse and perform herbivore performance assays. The microbiome of the soil can be manipulated or transferred. Plants can be sampled for further analysis of plant defence mechanisms in the lab at a molecular level.

You can be part of the ongoing experiments and you will get the opportunity to design your own experiments. Some examples:
- Investigating the effect herbivore-induced microbiome recruitment on different intensities of herbivore infestation.
- Comparing induced systemic resistance in different B. oleracea accessions and assess whether microbiome of a resistant plant can increase resistance in a susceptible plant by transferring the microbiome.
- Connect the effect of induced systemic resistance on herbivore performance to defence gene expression in the plant.
- Investigate root exudates of B. oleracea after herbivore infestation.
Used skills In your thesis you will develop one or more of the following skills: Designing, planning, and setting-up greenhouse experiments, Plant-soil-feedback type of experiments, Growing one to multiple plant species in a greenhouse setting, Aphid/caterpillar rearing, Plant-insect ecology, Plant-microbe ecology, Molecular ecology (gene expression by qPCR), Root sampling and root analysis, microbiome analysis, defense metabolome, analyzing data in R.
Requirements For doing a BSc-thesis at Entomology, there are no requirements for specific courses.
For doing an MSc-thesis or internship at Entomology, the following requirements apply ENT-30806 + a second ENT-course (preferably ENT-30306 or ENT-50806 or ENT-53806). As an alternative for the second ENT-course, PHP-30806 or BHE-30306 can be selected.
Note: these requirements do not apply for MBI students; MBI students should check the requirements for doing an ENT MSc-thesis or internship in the study programme of their specialisation.