Microbiomes under stress
Abiotic stress interrupts the assembly and function of plant microbiomes. Broadly, exploring how plants and their microbiomes cope with abiotic stressors can provide avenues to mitigate damage and safeguard crop production in the future. I am investigating the ability of host-associated microorganisms and microbiomes to alleviate drought stress in maize. Current efforts are focused on soils collected across a
precipitation gradient in Kansas, in order to study the soil's legacy affects on maize drought stress and assemble a large (1000 isolate) culture collection for future bioprospecting and comparative genomics.
Read more: Recent preprint
Grapevine microbiomes
Grafting is the horticultural technique of joining different plant organs together to form a vascular connection, bringing microbial communities of different genotypes together in a single plant. I am interested in understanding how the root and shoot system genotypes influence the microbiome in grapevines (Vitis vinifera). This line of research has taken me from Southwest Missouri to the Central Valley of California to utilize both experimental and commercial vineyards in my experiments.
Read more: SW Missouri paper
DNA Metabarcoding
In a partnership with the Missouri Botanical garden and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Laboratory we validated new non-invasive approaches to studying bat populations. We used multifaceted DNA metabarcoding (MDM) to simultaneously collect multiple parameters of interest within bat populations in order to better inform conservation practices. This workflow was optimized for both nectar and insectivorous bat spp.
Read more: MDM paper and Nectar bat paper
Population Genetics
Also while at the Missouri Botanical Garden, I was able to immerse myself in the fields of conservation and population genetics working with a number of different rare, threatened, and endangered plant species from A(-gave) to Z(-iziphus).
I used both microsatellites and next-generation sequencing techniques in order to understand the influence of life history traits and anthropogenic forces on plant populations and species.
Read more: Polygala paper and Agave paper
