The general areas in which my group works are bacterial genetics and molecular biology of plant-associated bacteria. Our emphasis is to study the physiology of bacterial growth and survival in the rhizosphere and how bacteria establish symbiotic interactions with plants, including root attachment and colonisation. A further focus of our work is the physiology and biochemistry of nitrogen fixation in legume nodules. Recently we have developed methods to revolutionize the whole research area of how plants control the microbial root microbiome.