One of the most intriguing challenges for plant biologists is to understand the complex interactions of plants, their environment, and the multitude of living organisms in or around the plant – the phytobiome. Research in the Leach lab has tackled this challenge in the rice-bacterial blight-climate pathosystem and by investigating multitrophic interactions in wheat, the Russian wheat aphid and the aphid-associated microbiome. These studies integrate physiological, molecular, genomic and genetic approaches, and involve laboratory and field experimentation. Ultimately, the goals of our group are to identify sources of long-lasting, broad-spectrum disease/insect resistance in the plant host, allowing for the development of ecologically sustainable forms of plant disease/insect control.