Birgit Mitter is Scientist at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Bioresources in Tulln.
Abstract:
The Bioresources Unit of the Health and Environment Department of the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH has long standing scientific expertise in the area of plant-microbe interactions. In particular, the Unit has initiated research in the area of cultivation-independent analysis of endophytes, i.e. microorganisms colonizing the interior of plants without conferring pathogenicity to their hosts. Endophytes have an intimate relationship with plants and provide various beneficial functions, such as improving plant nutrient uptake and enhancing tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. The research team at AIT explores the ecology of endophytic bacteria and the genetic basis of beneficial plant-microbe interactions. Furthermore, AIT is developing technologies for the delivery of endophytes to the plant under field conditions, thereby setting the ground for further exploitation of microbial functions concerning various applications in agriculture. AIT endophyte-research will be illustrated on the example of the plant-growth promoting bacteria Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN.