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Charan Singh

Candidature

PhD dual degree candidate

Thesis title

Exploring the potential of bacterial isolates to enhance plant drought stress tolerance

Research project

Charan SinghDrought limits the growth and productivity of crops particularly in arid and semi-arid areas resulting in substantial economic losses. Drought affects plant water relation at cellular and whole plant level causing primary (protoplasm shrinkage) and secondary (accumulation of reactive oxygen species due to imbalanced electron transport rates) reactions and damages. There is a great need to find new approaches to enhance productivity under water stress. Plant-soil microbial interactions are key determinants of plant health and soil fertility. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been reported to enhance the growth, yield, and nutrient uptake through a wide array of mechanisms. Inoculation of plants with beneficial microorganisms may increase drought tolerance of plants growing in arid or semiarid areas. This project aims to characterize the potential of novel and previously isolated bacterial strains for drought tolerance and wheat plant growth promoting activities. Moreover, this project will provide insights on the effect of bacterial inoculation on the soil microbiome and potential cascading effects on the ecosystem.

Supervisors

Uffe Nielsen and Jonathan Plett