Generating and harnessing fundamental knowledge of plants, their associated microbes, and their relationships with the environment

• Gain insights into evolution and adaptation of plants and associated microbes

  • Define and model the evolutionary history and trajectory of plants across a broad range of spatiotemporal scales
  • Determine the developmental and environmental factors that drive adaptation of plants and plant-associated microbes

• Characterize organismal and molecular diversity of plants and plant-associated microbes in natural and agricultural ecosystems

  • Elucidate processes underlying plant development, physiology, environmental responses and nutrition
  • Discover mechanisms governing plant-environment and plant-microbe interactions that include both beneficial and pathogenic microbes
  • Characterize and model the diverse relationships between plant systems, soil biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling, and their impact on climate

• Translate complex plant and microbial systems to drive broadly beneficial biotechnological innovation

  • Leverage and integrate diverse data sets to model and predictively modulate biological processes
  • Bioengineer plants and their microbes with novel biological properties, and generate new plant-based products and synthetic communities (synthetic biology)