Last days to apply for a PhD position with us at IRTA Cabrils (Catalonia, Spain) to work on drought resistance of crops, root exudates, rhizosphere microbes, crop wild relatievs and more! talent.irta.cat/en/jobs/6147...

#PhD position now open to work with us in Catalunya at IRTA (Cabrils) investigating domestication effects on crop roots and drought tolerance. Apply here: talent.irta.cat/en/jobs/6147...

We're looking for a postdoc with experience in microbial data other omics to work on the project (3 year contract) here in Cabrils, Spain. Apply here ➡️ talent.irta.cat/en/jobs/6071...

Last week we had a great kick-off meeting with colleagues and collaborators!

Some of the beautiful flowers in the WILD-ROOTS greenhouse today.

🧪The plants are getting bigger and the exudate measurements are beginning in earnest. Hypothesis is that wild plants exude more C, and more diverse exudates, but previous experiments suggest it's not that simple!

We are digging into how barley domestication shaped root and rhizosphere traits. Just look at those stunning roots! 🌾. I will be displaying some preliminary results at #Rhizosphere6 conf. @wild-roots.bsky.social @mvanderheijden.bsky.social @ @cathepreece.bsky.social @barleymicrobreed.bsky.social

My first time growing radish in an experiment-excited to include some root crops in the #WILD-ROOTS project. The modern and traditional varieties do look quite different! @wild-roots.bsky.social

Soil VOC emission measurements underway (with SPMEs) thanks to our Masters student Jordi. Will wild relatives have different emissions compared to modern crops?

We are hiring! Lab and field technician for the BRYOELEM project creaf.factorialhr.com/job_posting/...

Very happy to see this review on the #root economics space lead by @elsaelsam.bsky.social being published! link.springer.com/article/10.1... We show support and limitations of the concept, map extensions and discus future research avenues. Amazing team of coauthors!

First measurements of photosynthesis underway. Will there already be differences between crops and wild relatives?

The first plants are growing happily in the greenhouse. So far we have cereals and legumes, but many more to come. First photosynthesis measurements later this week!

New publication: Domesticated #rice alters the #rhizosphere #microbiome, reducing #nitrogen fixation and increasing nitrous oxide emissions. #agroecology #sustainability #microbialecology doi.org/10.1038/s414...

If you want to see what we get up to at IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology, in Catalunya) & the beautiful locations of the different centres, they've just published a series of short videos about some of the common methods we use...

Last few days to apply for this 4-year PhD contract at @creaf.cat (#Barcelona) about Spatial and temporal dynamics of biodiversity in Mediterranean spring ecosystems Apply here: creaf.factorialhr.com/job_posting/... Deadline 23rd February 2025. Please RT!

The first experiment of the WILD-ROOTS project is getting up and running 🥳 We'll be looking at how domestication affects the roots of 20 different crops - exudation, VOCs, rhizosphere and more!

The Flow of Elements and the Functioning of the Biosphere Come and join our thematic session at SIBECOL 2025 (Pontevedra, Spain)! sibecol-aeet-meeting2025.org/Index/11/Cal... Deadline for submissions: 20 December!

The WILD-ROOTS project is based at IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology) in Cabrils (Catalonia, Spain) which was looking lovely in the winter sunshine today.

📢Postdoc position open in WILD-ROOTS. Looking for a plant or soil ecologist with experience in omics analysis. Based at Cabrils, near Barcelona. borsatreball.irta.cat/enlace_ofert... Contact [email protected] for more details.

The maize seeds have arrived! 🥳 And here is a quick example of some of the differences and diversity you get from just one population of teosinte, landrace maize and modern maize.

Happy #WorldSoilDay2024 ! Soil is the foundation of our experiments and our food! And here's a video from the @fao.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd9t...

Crop domestication began more than 10,000 years ago and brought about one of the greatest changes in the lives of Neolithic humans, which we still experience today. But how have the plants themselves changed? [1/6]