Projects

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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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  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.

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  Crimson and clover, over and over: Methylobacterium and trifolium hybridum

  Seed Project

  This study examines how long-term nitrogen fertilization impacts Methylobacterium diversity in clover, exploring eco-evolutionary effects on plant-microbe interactions in agricultural settings.

Publications

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  Bedwell et al., 2025

  Bedwell, S. L., Lakis, I. M., Megow, A. R., Ricks, K. D., Fields, C. J., Lau, J. A., Whitaker, R. J., & Heath, K. D. (2025). A continuum of ecology and evolution contributes to mutualism breakdown between legumes and rhizobia. bioRxiv.

  https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.12.02.691918