Project Objectives (description)

The primary objective of this project is to characterize the interactions that enable the development of roots in micropropagated Pinus pinea microshoots. The integration of the analyses with the whole process to outplanting will bring a broad perspective to this knowledge and contribute to several areas, both fundamental and applied: - identification of signalling mediators between ectomycorrhizal fungi and Pinus pinea roots - obtaining new insights into the plausible diversity of interactions that take place in the Pinus pinea rhizosphere - evaluating the causal relationships between sustained rooting in vitro and the subsequent performance ex vitro - establishment of a cDNA marker array for the process - providing a rationale for the improvement of in vitro multiplication of Pinus pinea and other recalcitrant conifers - replacing the fungi with defined culture components throughout the micropropagation process