7th Joint Call: Micro-GRICE
Background
Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world’s population and particularly vital in Southeast Asia. However, climate change poses severe threats to rice yields, including drought, salinity, and flooding. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have improved productivity but caused long-term environmental degradation and reduced soil health.
Harnessing the plant microbiome offers a promising, eco-friendly pathway to enhance nutrient uptake, improve stress tolerance, and reduce dependence on agrochemicals.
The project
Micro-GRICE pursues the following objectives:
- Characterize rice microbiomes under normal and stress conditions in multiple Southeast Asian sites.
- Identify beneficial microbial taxa associated with higher yields and resilience.
- Develop microbial inoculants and formulations for rice cultivation.
- Field test microbiome-based solutions under diverse agroecological conditions.
- Build capacity in microbiome research across Southeast Asia through joint training and knowledge exchange.
The science
The project integrates microbiology, genomics, and agronomy:
- High-throughput sequencing to map microbial communities in rice roots and soils.
- Bioinformatics pipelines to identify functional microbial groups.
- Greenhouse and field trials to validate beneficial microbes and test bioinoculants.
- Systems approaches to link microbiome functions with rice growth, stress tolerance, and yield.
Expected outcomes include new microbiome-based technologies for rice farming, reduction in chemical input use, and improved climate resilience in rice systems.
The team
The Micro-GRICE partners are:
- Assist. Prof. Dr. Simon Guerrero Cruz (Coordinator), Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
- Dr. Adrian Ho Kah Wye, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
- Dr. Victor J. Carrion Bravo, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Contact:
Assist. Prof. Dr. Simon Guerrero Cruz Email: simongc@ait.ac.th