Speaker
Description
Leaf-associated microbial communities are shaped by diverse factors including host species, environmental conditions, and heterogeneous microenvironments across leaf surfaces. This environmental heterogeneity results in each bacterial cell experiencing unique local conditions, driving individual behaviours that influence not only survival but also the broader community dynamics. By focusing on single-cell resolution, we can reveal key microbial adaptations, such as reproductive success and resource utilisation, and gain insights into how individual cells contribute to population-level functionality and the assembly of microbial communities. To explore these complex dynamics, bioreporter technology and single-cell analysis have emerged as key approaches, enabling detailed studies of gene expression and interactions at the individual cell level. Our research has focused on developing a suite of genetic tools for studying leaf-associated bacteria, including fluorescent markers for the in situ visualisation of bacterial arrangements on leaf surfaces, reporters to track reproductive success in varied contexts, and substrate- dependent reporters to investigate how bacteria respond to their environment. This approach has deepened our understanding of how individual bacteria contribute to populations, community functions, and bacterium-host interactions. This knowledge is key for designing synthetic bacterial communities from the ground up, allowing us to understand emergent properties and processes underlying community assembly.
