AccelNet-Implementation Phase 1: MICROBENet-Net: Multi-Institute Collaborative Research on BElowground plant-microbial interactions Network of Networks

University Of Kansas Center For Research Inc, Lawrence KS

Investigators

Abstract

Microorganisms are everywhere and control many of Earth’s processes. Fungi that interact with plants play one of the most critical roles in these processes, helping most plants grow and survive but also causing some of the worst plant diseases. Yet we know remarkably little about how plant-fungal interactions vary across the globe. Mapping plant-fungal partners could help us predict plant functions, particularly under environmental change. We need rapid answers to these questions and they must scale from microorganisms to the entire planet, but the small research communities working on pieces of this grand problem are largely scattered and independent. Our MICROBENet^Net project will unite a diverse array of research networks from around the world, integrating databases and tools to build a common foundation to predict plant-fungal roles and solutions in current and future environmental challenges and overcome logistical roadblocks. For example, more accurate predictions of plant-fungal interactions can help us enhance crop yield and disease resistance or better predict which ecosystems will absorb more carbon dioxide versus those that will release it. Our project also will train the next generation of biologists that work across currently siloed disciplines, so that they can be just as comfortable measuring the traits of individual fungi as modeling fungal-mediated processes across the entire planet. Individual networks struggle to address some of our most fundamental interdisciplinary questions, inhibited by an inability to scale globally and a lack of interdisciplinary knowledge. Connections among disparate networks of plant and fungal biologists are also currently hindered by differences in disciplinary lexicons, limited face to face capacity, lack of harmonized data streams, and challenging cross-cultural interfaces. MICROBENet^Net, our proposed network of networks, will bridge convergent networks of people and research lines, train the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists, and link databases, all of which are needed to address cross-cutting, societal challenges. Our online hub, annual colloquia, and research exchanges will provide an integrated, international community to build out an easily accessible integrative workflow that links our network of researchers to cross disciplinary expertise and data. With this access, individual networks (and new, future nodes) can rapidly advance answers to long-standing questions in plant-fungal interactions. Convergent research on plant-fungal interactions can, for example, improve predictions of plant productivity, as well as which ecosystems around the globe will tip between net carbon sources or sinks. This project is jointly funded by the Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet) program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.