Getting to the root of the rhizosphere

Getting to the root of the rhizosphere

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, researchers describe methods for illuminating interactions between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere.

In this episode, we cover:

•[00:00] Introduction

•[00:35] Molly Hanlon describes a relatively inexpensive technique for rapidly imaging plant anatomy along the root axis.

•[01:47] Oumeng Zhang explains a microscopy technique for imaging 3D microbial interactions with improved speed and reduced phototoxicity compared to traditional methods.

•[03:07] Reinaldo Alcalde describes the results of his and Oumeng's approach.

•[04:08] Victoria Orphan used synthetic cryolite to create a transparent, soil-like scaffold, allowing belowground microbial processes to be visualized.

•[05:31] Final thoughts and conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Molly Hanlon