Projects

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  Coevolutionary interactions between clover hosts and rhizobium symbionts

  Core Project

  Jen Lau and colleagues will explore how nitrogen addition affects legume-rhizobium mutualism and the potential evolutionary responses of legume hosts, aiming to understand coevolution dynamics.

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  Does symbiosis contribute resilience against multiple stressors? Mutualism response to stress

  Core Project

  Tony Yannarell and Kevin Ricks study how symbiotic partnerships respond to multiple environmental stressors. Can these partnerships adapt to respond, or do they break down under pressure?

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  Eco-evo feedbacks: How does rhizobium evolution affect pollination ecology?

  Core Project

  Researchers Adam Dolezal, Alex Harmon-Threatt, and others, are studying the interactions between clover, honey bees, and their microbial symbionts, and how they are impacted by symbiosis breakdown.

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  Evolutionary ecology of symbiosis using microbial mark-recapture

  Core Project

  Researchers use molecular barcoding to study Rhizobium leguminosarum evolution, focusing on interactions with clover hosts and soil under nitrogen addition and phage parasitism.

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  Genetics and genomics of partner quality in Rhizobium leguminosarum

  Core Project

  Researchers found genetic differences in symbiosis genes on the pSym plasmid between beneficial and less beneficial rhizobium strains. They aim to link these mutations and HGT to nitrogen fixation and

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  HGT and natural selection in microbial extended phenotypes

  Core Project

  Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) drives microbial evolution but is hard to detect. Researchers are developing new methods to study HGT in various bacterial populations and improve evolutionary analysis.

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  High fitness burden of virulence drives genome evolution in a facultative plant pathogen

  Core Project

  Researchers study the dynamics of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a facultative pathogen, focusing on how a small virulent subpopulation drives horizontal gene transfer while enduring fitness costs.

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  Molecular characterization of genome conformation in rhizobium symbionts of clover

  Core Project

  Researchers study how mutualism between legumes and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia drives evolutionary differentiation. They explore genome architecture and gene expression using Hi-C and RNA-seq.

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  Multi-scale structure of natural variation in Streptomyces in rhizophere of long-term nitrogen addition experiment

  Core Project

  Isabelle Lakis studies how long-term nitrogen addition affects Streptomyces populations in the rhizosphere. They aim to understand community dynamics and variation in pangenomic elements.

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  Plasmid population biology across environments in Rhizobium leguminosarum

  Core Project

  Sierra Bedwell studies how changes in Rhizobium plasmid dynamics affect legume-rhizobia mutualism decline due to nitrogen fertilization, using soil and nodule samples.

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  Untangling multiple ecological drivers of rhizobium evolution under nitrogen enrichment

  Core Project

  Mackenzie Caple and collaborators study how nitrogen enrichment, light, and legume density affect rhizobium evolution. They examine if rhizobium quality recovers after stopping nitrogen addition.

Publications

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  Kosmopoulos et al., 2024

  Kosmopoulos, J. C., Batsone-Doyle, R. T., & Heath, K. D. (2024). Co-inoculation with novel nodule-inhabiting bacteria reduces the benefits of legume-rhizobium symbiosis. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 70, 275-288.

  https://doi.org/10.1139/cjm-2023-0209
• 

  Vereau Gorbitz et al., 2024

  Vereau Gorbitz, D., Schwarz, C., McMullen, J. G., Cerón-Romero, M., Doyle, R. T., Lau, J. A., Whitaker, R. J., Vanderpool, C. K., & Heath, K. (2024). Plasmid transmission dynamics and evolution of partner quality in a natural population of Rhizobium leguminosarum. bioRxiv.

  https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.17.618979
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  Halloway et al., 2022

  Halloway, A. H., Heath, K. D., & McNickle, G. G. (2022). When does mutualism offer a competitive advantage? A game-theoretic analysis of host–host competition in mutualism. AoB Plants, 14(2), 1-9.

  https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plac010
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  Heath et al., 2022

  Heath, K. D., Batstone, R. T., Cerón Romero, M., & McMullen, J. G. (2022). MGEs as the MVPs of partner quality variation in legume-Rhizobium symbiosis. mBio, 13(4).

  https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00888-22

Presentations

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  Lauren et al., 2024

  Lauren, L. H., Leonardi, N., & Hug, B. (2024, September 26). The broader impacts of GEMS education and outreach initiatives [Poster presentation]. GEMS Annual Retreat, Bloomington, IN, United States.