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SUMMARY:“Programmable” Ecosystems: Engineered Environments for the Stu
 dy of Biosystems Development - Ludovico Cademartiri\, Iowa State Universit
 y
DTSTART:20160517T150000Z
DTEND:20160517T160000Z
UID:TALK66101@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Emily Chillingworth
DESCRIPTION:The necessity of understanding the role of the abiotic and bio
 tic environment on the development of plants and ecosystems is challenged 
 by a lack of tools capable of providing simple and controllable model syst
 ems with which to test hypotheses. While biology has made great strides in
  the implementation of sophisticated methods for the characterization of t
 he various -omics\, relatively little has been done to improve and standar
 dize the tools available for the growing of plants in controlled environme
 nts.\nOur group is interested in creating a set of integrated tools to all
 ow the scientific community to create completely customizable environments
  with which to conduct plant biology and plant ecology experiments.\nIn th
 is talk I will describe a strategy for the design of model ecosystems for 
 plants and their microbiome in which the ecosystem composition\, connectiv
 ity\, and stimulation can be programmed and dynamically controlled.  \nThe
 se meter-scale experimental model systems are designed as networks of inte
 rconnected nodes\, whereby each node is occupied by one or more of the eco
 system’ organisms. The connections between the nodes are selectively per
 meable (e.g.\, allowing root penetration but preventing bacteria colonisat
 ion).\nConstant directional flows enable the stimulation and colonization 
 of selected organisms within the ecosystems. Oscillating flows result inst
 ead in transport of chemicals between nodes that obeys Fickian diffusion b
 ut with controllable rate and direct\nI will highlight the possibilities o
 ffered by these experimental tools to investigate (i) the role of ecosyste
 m topology on its stress response\, and (ii) the role of local physico-che
 mical heterogeneities on the topology of individual root systems.\n
LOCATION:Auditorium of The Sainsbury Laboratory (Bateman Street)
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