You are Director of the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences (IBES) at the University of Aberdeen, UK; can you discuss its overarching mission?

IBES is the research wing of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen. The main aim of IBES is to provide a stimulating environment that enables our staff to conduct insightful research that deals with society’s ‘grand challenges’. Researchers at the Institute are pursuing a broad range of different research themes such as the impact of environmental perturbations on ecosystems and exploration of the major issues facing UK and local populations, including research into the decline of honeybees. Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on basic ‘discovery’ science – something that is essential to better understand specific environmental challenges. IBES’ work is widely recognised as world leading; our research in plant, soil and environmental science was ranked 1st in the UK in the recent Research Excellence Framework. We take great pride in using our findings to inform the Institute’s teaching endeavours for the inspiration of our undergraduate and postgraduate students.

What do your responsibilities encompass?

In the short term I am developing the Institute’s research strategy, which involves defining and shaping our vision for the next five years or so, as well as implementing the mechanisms necessary to enable us to achieve this vision. Fortunately, IBES has a fantastic track record of winning competitive funding and translating it into tangible scientific outputs. However, as with anything, there is always room for improvement and it is my intention to drive its reputation even further.

Research at IBES spans three core research programmes: integrative environmental

physiology, ecology and evolution, and biological interactions in soil. Why were these areas chosen for particular focus?

These programmes reflect the critical mass of expertise of our 52 permanent members of academic staff. The programmes are broad and encompass studies in a variety of different systems, including tropical forest, soil, marine, aquaculture, freshwater and terrestrial systems, which also strongly align with national and international research needs. However, we have recently recruited several new staff members and it is likely that we will revisit our existing programmes with a view to expanding and redefining their remits, particularly in light of the new research strategy we are developing.

Are there any high profile examples you would like to highlight from IBES’ programme areas?

There are numerous different examples. However, one particularly exciting recent development is the discovery that plants are able to signal the presence of insect herbivores to each other through networks of underground mycelium that interconnect plant roots. This finding – published in Ecology Letters in 2013 – means we must now redefine our understanding of how multi-trophic interactions are regulated in ecosystems and recognise the crucial role played by common mycorrhizal fungal networks. Our work in this area was highlighted by numerous national and international media outlets, as well as lay publications.

To what extent are you encouraging and supporting the next generation of researchers?

This is one of our key priorities, which is being achieved at several different levels. Firstly, we have an excellent outreach facility – the Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre – that

supports environmental education across Scotland by engaging teachers in cutting-edge research findings and working with school children on various projects. Secondly, each year we educate and train several hundred undergraduate and postgraduate students, often using research-led teaching so that students benefit from our research excellence. Finally, we have a dynamic doctoral training programme that equips students with the skills that they need to embark on careers in academia, industry and other sectors.

Is international collaboration a key focus for the Institute? Can you elaborate on any current major partnerships?

The University of Aberdeen, and IBES in particular, is renowned for having excellent international partnerships. For example, researchers working in the Biological Interactions in Soils research programme have active collaborations in over 65 countries, while 30 per cent of current research student supervision involves cooperation with other organisations. The collaboration with the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment in Sydney, Australia, is particularly active – we have shared doctoral students and grants from major UK and Australian funding councils, as well as publishing many joint scientific papers together.

Professor David Johnson is a prominent researcher with a background in plant and soil science. Here, he emphasises the importance of providing a dynamic and inspirational space for biological and environmental scientists that fosters creativity and collaboration

Tackling grand challenges

PROFESSOR DAVID JOHNSON

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PIONEERING PROGRAMMESWith an overarching emphasis on both pure and applied research across the biological sciences, the activities at the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences are currently divided into three core research programmes:

Integrative Environmental PhysiologyCentring on mammalian physiology, fish immunology and physiology, and parasite-host interactions, this programme has facilitated a number of fascinating discoveries. For example, Dr Alan Bowman’s team has devised a cutting-edge method to knock down the genes involved in mite-bee interactions, giving them insights into these interactions and enabling them to understand how the Varroa mite is able to kill honey bees. Additionally, Professor John Speakman and his colleagues found that the theft of prey caught by cheetahs had minimal impact on the overall cheetah population because of the modest level of their routine daily energy expenditure – findings that were published in Science.

Ecology and EvolutionThis programme focuses on understanding the ecology of populations and communities, and using this knowledge to inform conservation strategies. One of the main specialisms is marine and ocean biology and, using state-of-the-art facilities, the researchers have made significant strides in building knowledge about biogeochemical cycles, biodiversity and human-induced impacts in abyssal, hadal, benthic and pelagic environments. For example, a recent article published in Nature by Dr Daniel Mayor highlighted that prokaryotic organisms play important roles in recycling carbon in the twilight zones of oceans.

Biological Interactions in SoilThe scientists in this programme primarily concentrate on characterising and maximising sustainability and biodiversity in the context of the plant-microbe-soil system. Using leading-edge techniques and technologies, the research ranges from molecular genetics to community ecology. There is a particularly strong emphasis on strategic partnerships, and the researchers within this programme have been involved in active collaborations with over 500 organisations worldwide over the past five years.

SPECIES VARIATION AND genotypic diversity are essential for maintaining biodiversity and thereby ensuring the sustainability, resilience and productivity of ecosystems. Over the years there has been extensive research into the biodiversity of plant and animal communities, but very little is known about how the biodiversity of mycorrhizal fungi – the soil microorganisms that form symbiotic relationships with plant roots termed mycorrhizae – affects the functioning of the ecosystem at large. While these fungi are known to be crucial ecosystem components, their enormous phylogenetic and physiological diversity, abundance, biomass and distribution have made them a challenging area of study.

Mycorrhizae are vital elements in the biodiversity of ecosystems that moderate biogeochemical cycles, biological diversity and the behaviours of both above- and belowground organisms. Indeed, mycorrhizal symbioses have played a crucial role in the evolution and maintenance of plants for hundreds of millions of years. “Humanity depends on plants, so understanding the basic processes that enable plants to thrive – such as how they interact with mycorrhizal fungi – is essential for addressing the environmental ‘grand challenges’ facing us today,” asserts Professor David Johnson, Director of the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences (IBES) at the University of Aberdeen.

With this in mind, Johnson and a team of researchers based at IBES are attempting to

The Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Aberdeen hosts a dynamic group of scientists who are aiming to understand the biological consequences of environmental change, with one particularly important research area focusing on the ecology of mycorrhizal fungi

The roots of biodiversity

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ECOLOGY OF MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI

OBJECTIVETo undertake pioneering research in several key areas of biological and environmental sciences, including population and evolutionary ecology, fisheries, understanding and modelling the soil/plant/microbe interface, deep ocean biology, environmental effects on mammalian physiology and fish immunogenetics.

KEY COLLABORATORSProfessor Richard Bardgett, Faculty of Life Science, University of Manchester, UK • Professor Nick Ostle, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, UK • Dr Thorunn Helgason, Department of Biology, University of York, UK • Professor Ian Anderson, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Australia • Dr Lucy Gilbert, James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, UK

PARTNERSThe James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, UK • Marine Scotland, UK • Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Australia • Additional organisations

FUNDINGNumerous public and private sector organisations including:

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

European Research Council (ERC)

European Union (EU)

CONTACTProfessor David Johnson Director

Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences (IBES)University of AberdeenCruickshank BuildingSt Machar DriveAberdeen AB24 3UU UK

T +44 122 427 3857E d.johnson@abdn.ac.uk

www.abdn.ac.uk/ibes/

www.abdn.ac.uk/ibes/people/profiles/d.johnson

ResearcherID: N-3193-2013

www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Johnson62

DAVID JOHNSON obtained an MSc in Soil Science at the University of Aberdeen in 1994, and a PhD at the University of Sheffield under the supervision

of Professors Jonathan Leake and John Lee. He eventually returned to Aberdeen and is currently a professor and Director of IBES.

determine whether the effects of biodiversity on plant and animal communities and ecosystems can also be observed in soil microbial systems. Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the project is highly collaborative and involves partners from Scotland’s James Hutton Institute, the University of Western Sydney in Australia, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and Scottish Natural Heritage. Together, the scientists are investigating the ecological significance of intraspecific diversity – that is, the similarities and differences between individuals of the same species – in ectomycorrhizal fungi. The decision to focus on these species came from their widely recognised importance in regulating global biogeochemical cycles in forests and their experimental tractability, as well as the current lack of understanding about the functional importance of their diversity.

MAKING NEW INSIGHTSIn their study, Johnson and his team, which includes postdoctoral researcher Dr Christina Hazard, are testing the hypothesis that genotypic diversity plays a role in regulating ecosystem function when in association with a plant host. Specifically, they are applying biodiversity theory to microbial systems in order to establish how the intra- and interspecific diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi affects the functioning of ecosystems and, in turn, how this functioning interacts with environmental heterogeneity. Additionally, they are exploring how ectomycorrhizal intraspecific diversity helps to maintain ectomycorrhizal species richness. The hope is that their findings will contribute to a fuller understanding of how the genotypic diversity of microbial communities drives wider ecological processes.

The researchers are primarily using fungal molecular biology techniques, ecophysiological analysis and novel experimental forests that comprise defined mixtures of ectomycorrhizal fungi in symbiotic relationships with plant

roots. By conducting experiments under both controlled and natural conditions, they are able to obtain precise results regarding the effects of fungal genotypic and species diversity on ecosystem processes. In addition, access to leading-edge facilities at the University of Aberdeen’s newly launched Centre for Genome Enabled Biology and Medicine provides the team with the tools to make connections between genomic data and functional data from these experiments. “For instance, using stable isotopes of nitrogen we have discovered that different genotypes of the fungus Laccaria bicolor differ significantly in their ability to utilise amino acids, which are major sources of nitrogen in forest soils,” Hazard enthuses.

In order to test the ecosystem responses of plant and fungal productivity, the IBES researchers used microcosms containing pine trees colonised by a gradient of genotypic diversity. Interestingly, the results from these experiments showed that shoot height and root biomass had significant genotype identity effects on plant productivity, while the effects of shoot biomass and root length were negligible. As for fungal productivity, ectomycorrhizal root tips and hyphal length were found to be significantly affected by genotype identity. Taken together, the results strongly suggest that genotypic diversity has a sizeable impact on ecosystem function and selection.

RESEARCH PROGRESSIONIn light of strong evidence that intraspecific variation of mycorrhizae is a key component of biodiversity, there is a need for more research into the enormous genotypic variation of both mycorrhizal plants and fungi. The hope is that this will further reveal the extent to which individual variation in key characteristics is genetically based, as well as enabling the researchers to better understand the functional significance of biodiversity on ecosystem processes.

Looking to the future, Johnson is also planning to examine the symbiotic relationships between fungi and plant roots in more detail and to facilitate the translation of basic research into tangible, applied outputs: “My own personal interests lie in discovering how the functioning of mycorrhizal fungi relates to the fitness of both plant and fungal partners,” he elucidates. “I am also keen to develop our work on plant-to-plant signalling in relation to insect pests, and to test whether this phenomenon can be harnessed in agri-ecosystems to improve food security.”

INTELLIGENCE

Microcosm containing a Scots pine seedling colonised by the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus. The false-colour overlay shows transport of an amino acid applied to a square patch on the bottom right of the microcosm; two distinct transport pathways away from the patch have been used by the fungus, before accumulating at the fungus-root interface.

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