SIB Group Leader Christian von Mering, Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Zurich has received a European Research Council ERC Starting Grant for his group to study bacteria in their natural habitats. Initially he will focus on bacteria on the surface of leaves, together with collaborators from ETH Zurich. As more than 100 species of bacteria can be present on a single plant, with each bacterium possessing between 1,000 to 10,000 genes, this work will involve the collection and analysis of huge amounts of data.

One hypothesis of the researchers is that plants have an interest in this hosting as they benefit from having their leaves densely populated by bacteria, which leaves no place for pathogens. More in German

More than 920 life sciences grant applications were submitted as part of this call, with the next ERC Starting Grant call closing Nov 18, 2009.