Research

 

Interactions of Rhizosphere Microbiome and Glucosinolate (GLS) Production in Brassica rapa:

This project studies the effects of rhizosphere microbial community on production of secondary metabolites (GLS) and insect damage (feed-up mechanisms) as well as the effects of GLS production on rhizosphere microbial community composition (feed-down mechanisms).

 

Microbial Communities of Water Lilies and Lakes

This project aims to characterize the microbial communities associated with water lilies and in the water column of lakes in the Snowy Range. It also looks at temporal variation in these microbial communities. 

 

Temporal Organization of Microbial Communities

This research investigates whether microbial communities associated with the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of plants exhibit diel cycling, related to the circadian period of the associated plant. Wyoming native plant species Boechera stricta is under investigation. Current projects investigate reproducibility in the field, the magnitude of microbial changes across different latitudes, and the role plant exudates play in rhizosphere diel cycling.