The Norwich Research Park is a leading centre for research into interactions between plants and microbes.
Bacterial and fungal pathogens are a major problem for agriculture worldwide, causing crop losses worth billions every year. Conversely, many soil dwelling microorganisms form important, beneficial relationships with plants. This includes symbiotic archaea, bacteria and fungi that provide resources to their hosts, and biocontrol bacteria that suppress pathogens and produce potentially useful natural products.
Research groups across the Norwich Research Park study every aspect of plant-microbe interaction, from bacterial and archaeal root colonisation to fungal pathogen infection and plant immunity.