FUNGAL AND BACTERIAL CONSORTIA IN SOILS AND PLANTS

?Objective 1 - Improve understanding of plant holobionts and the microbiome of fungal isolates and fungal fruiting structures. This aim is focused on plant crops that are important to human nutrition (soy, wheat, corn) and bioenergy (switchgrass, poplar), bacterial associates of these isolates and fungal fruiting structures.Objective 2: Determine impacts of root metabolite fractions on bacterial and fungal cell activity, turnover and metabolism. This aim will focus on sampling, purification, and microbial baiting through cross-feeding experiments with root metabolite fractions from focal plants (e.g. switchgrass).