Plant Communication

WHAT? Lecture and practical course. WHO? Dr. Islam Khattab, Dr. Nathalie Hering. WHEN? Block 3, SS. WHERE? Biotower, Bld. 30.43, 5. OG. FOR WHOM? Master Biologie, Chemische Biologie, Lehramt Biologie
methodology plant communication Islam Khattab
Many diseases result from bad or manipulated communication. To come up with therapies, we need to understand, what went wrong and how to get it back on track. Here, an example of our methodology.

Learning objectives 

As sessile organisms, plants cannot run away from adverse conditions. They have to adapt, and communication among plants and with other organisms has become their key strategy. Plants grow in soil, which harbours the largest reservoir of biological diversity on the planet. Both plants and microbes, especially in the rhizosphere, have co-evolved through mutual selection pressures, resulting in adaptations that benefit both parties. Students will acquire the conceptual framework to understand plant-plant and plant-microbe systems as dynamic, multi-layered interactions. They will be able to grasp the mechanisms of important signals and their mode of action, as well as their integration into plant physiology. They will understand the ecological impact of those interactions, as well as the potential application for a more sustainable agriculture of the future. On the methodological side, they will acquire the cellular and molecular tools to analyse and operationalise plant-plant and plant-microbe interactions, including assays and strategies to map potential modes of action efficiently, including high-throughput chemiluminescence and fluorescence measurements, gene expression studies, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and bioactivity studies.

content/lectures:

  • Key Concepts in Plant Communication: Signals, Strategies & Survival (Dr. Islam Khattab)
  • Choosing Friends Wisely: How Plants Recruit Allies from the Microbiome (Dr. Islam Khattab)
  • Plant–Bacteria Dialogues: Chemical Conversations Belowground (Dr. Islam Khattab)
  • Plant-Fungus Dialogues: The Fine Line Between Mutualism and War (Dr. Islam Khattab)
  • Beyond Microbes: Plant Communication with Viruses and Nematodes (Dr. Islam Khattab)
  • The Plant Communication Toolbox A: Omics, Signals & Immune Readouts (with tools like ROS, IAA, Ca²⁺ signaling, phylogenetics, marker genes) (Dr. Islam Khattab)
  • When Plants Speak: Communication with Insects (Dr. Sascha Wetters)
  • Plant-plant communication: How Plants Talk Without Words “From Philosophy to Chemistry” (Dr. Nathalie Hering)
  • The Plant Communication Toolbox B: How to Study Secondary Pathways (Dr. Nathalie Hering)