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Aspergillus flavus strain diversity and distribution in the honey bee beebread environment across various regions of the United States
Seed ProjectExamines the occurrence of a non-pathogenic bacteria strain in honey bee hives, investigating its potential mutualistic role by comparing it to other bacteria strains across different colonies.
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Bacterial signaling in multi-species Vibrio-host interactions on climate change conditions
Core ProjectThe research aims to understand how multi-species Vibrio bacteria communicate and use quorum sensing to adapt and survive, and how environmental changes affect bacteria behavior and host interactions.
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Broadening perspectives and participation through GEMS professional learning
Seed ProjectWe study how to create NGSS-aligned curriculum, combining science research, Multiple Ways of Knowing, and DEI. We aim to deepen student understanding and promote inclusive education.
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Can theory on the evolution of cooperation explain microbe-mediated host adaptation?
Seed ProjectInvestigates whether partner choice in soil microbes contributes to plant adaptation to abiotic environments, exploring mechanisms of cooperation and their effects on plant responses to change.
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Carbon substrate use of rhizobia evolved under long-term nitrogen amendments
Seed ProjectThis study examines how long-term nitrogen fertilizer use affects the relationship between rhizobia and legumes, focusing on changes in nutrient processing under different nitrogen levels.
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Characterization of competition and cooperative dynamics among wild plasmids isolated from E. coli in a natural co-housed porcine population
Seed ProjectThis study explores plasmid behavior in piglets to understand antimicrobial resistance spread. Using advanced tools, it maps plasmid interactions and competition in controlled E. coli populations.
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Coevolutionary interactions between clover hosts and rhizobium symbionts
Core ProjectJen 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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Crimson and clover, over and over: Methylobacterium and trifolium hybridum
Seed ProjectThis study examines how long-term nitrogen fertilization impacts Methylobacterium diversity in clover, exploring eco-evolutionary effects on plant-microbe interactions in agricultural settings.
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CRISPR dynamics in Bombella strains isolated from longitudinal sampling of honey bee larvae
Core ProjectCRISPR-Cas immunity tracks host-microbe interactions. Researchers aim to study CRISPR dynamics in natural populations and their impact on symbiont evolution using Bombella from bee larvae.
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Cross-feeding mutualism in the honey bee larval microbiome
Seed ProjectThis study investigates the mutualistic relationship between two bacterial families in honey bees, focusing on how bee cross-feeding enhances the growth of honey bee larvae.
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Defining the functional diversity and evolution of phage-associated endosymbiont toxins
Core ProjectTandy Warnow and Irene Newton study how phage-associated toxins from Wolbachia influence host biology and coevolution, exploring functional diversity and evolutionary impacts on endosymbiont toxins.
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Development of inclusive and investigation motivated K-12 curriculum
Seed ProjectAims to develop accessible classroom modules using Daphnia to engage students in hands-on investigations aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, fostering curiosity and inclusivity.
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Does symbiosis contribute resilience against multiple stressors? Mutualism response to stress
Core ProjectTony 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 ProjectResearchers 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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Eco-evolution of Streptomyces in the rhizosphere
Seed ProjectThis study explores how long-term nitrogen addition affects the population structure and dynamics of Streptomyces in the rhizosphere, examining its impact on microbial interactions and plant health.
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Eco-evolutionary forces maintaining genetic diversity in Pseudomonas syringae
Core ProjectP. syringae is a well known plant pathogen with genetic diversity. The Bergelson and Pascual labs use eco-evolutionary models and data to study how diversity is maintained in wild plants and crops.
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Effect of absence/presence pattern of partner quality related genes in nodule metabolic profile
Seed ProjectThis study explores how gene variations in Sinorhizobium bacteria influence their mutualistic relationship with plants, focusing on metabolism and overall plant health in nodules.
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Effect of long-term fertilization on the evolution of legume-Rhizobia symbiosis
Core ProjectThis project studies how long-term nitrogen addition impacts legume-rhizobium symbiosis using the Morrow Plots to understand effects on nitrogen fixation, aiding sustainable agriculture.
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Effects of diet and social context on honey bee queen microbiome and its mobilome
Core ProjectResearchers study how stressors on honey bees affect mobile genetic elements and their bacterial hosts using queen monitoring cages and metagenomic sequencing techniques.
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Effects of resource competition and virus transmission between honey bees and native bees
Seed ProjectThis study investigates the long-term effects of managed honey bee apiaries on native bee communities, focusing on competition, pathogen spillover, and potential microbiome interactions over 10 years.
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Establishing a GEMS culture collection
Core ProjectMicrobial diversity, particularly from complex communities like soil, is still underexplored. Researchers are working to culture microbes from field sites at the KBS Biological Station in Michigan.
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Evolution of viral fitness in Mu-like temperate viruses of P. aeruginosa
Seed ProjectThis study investigates the interactions between a bacterium and its temperate virus, focusing on how viral evolution during lysogeny affects the stability of the bacterial host.
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Evolutionary ecology of symbiosis using microbial mark-recapture
Core ProjectResearchers 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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From sequence to structure workflow for analysis of CRISPR-Cas immunity dynamics in microbial populations
Core ProjectResearchers are developing a genomics tool to analyze CRISPR population diversity in bacterial genomes, aiming to enhance predictive models for microbial infection epidemiology.
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Fungal contributions to GEMS systems
Core ProjectMay Berenbaum and Adam Dolezal study the role of Aspergillus in the health of the honey bee colony, with the goal of extending this to understand the role of Aspergillus species in other GEMS systems.
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Fungicide-mediated alteration of foliar endophytic and soil microbial communities and its implications on prairie plant host phenotypes
Seed ProjectThis study investigates how pesticide exposure in prairies affects plant health by altering microbial communities. It explores how changes in above- and belowground microbes impact plant fitness.
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GEMS Education Curriculum Development and Professional Learning
Core ProjectThe GEMS education and outreach team studies the impact of their efforts through various research projects, which occur during professional development experiences and in teachers’ classrooms.
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Genetics and genomics of partner quality in Rhizobium leguminosarum
Core ProjectResearchers 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 ProjectHorizontal 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 ProjectResearchers 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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Influence of the mobilome on the honey bee microbiome via longitudinal metagenomics and reverse ecology
Core ProjectResearchers study how ecological and evolutionary factors shape the honey bee gut microbiome, focusing on mobile gene interactions through a longitudinal analysis of apiaries.
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Interactive effects of light, nitrogen, and a keystone species on plant-soil feedbacks
Seed ProjectInvestigating how ecological changes that weaken pairwise mutualisms affect the broader community.
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Investigating mutualism co-evolution using a novel alga-N-fixing bacterium model
Seed ProjectThis study uses algae and bacteria to explore mutualistic co-evolution. Through controlled experiments, it examines how genetics and environment drive evolutionary changes in mutualism.
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Investigating the dynamics of multiple bumble bee symbioses in agriculturally situated pollinator habitat
Seed ProjectThis study explores how agricultural landscapes affect the interactions between bumblebees, flowering plants, and parasites, aiming to understand these complex relationships.
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Jekyll and Hyde: How a honey bee-associated microbe alters host gene expression
Seed ProjectThis study examines how honey bee larvae respond to different levels of the symbiont Bombella apis, which can act as both a mutualist and a pathogen, focusing on gene expression and development.
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Microbiome diversity in nodules across soybean cultivars and soil treatments with varied nitrogen histories
Seed ProjectThis study investigates how different nitrogen fertilization histories affect soybean and its nitrogen-fixing bacteria, Bradyrhizobium.
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Molecular characterization of genome conformation in rhizobium symbionts of clover
Core ProjectResearchers 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 ProjectIsabelle 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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Multipartite fungal symbiosis: Investigating the impacts of arbuscular mycorrhizal and fungal leaf endophyte symbiosis on prairie plant growth and metabolites
Seed ProjectThis study looks at how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and fungal leaf endophytes (FLE) impact prairie plants. It explores their effects on plant growth, defense, and interactions with insects.
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Multipartite genome evolution in E. coli
Core ProjectIsaiah Goertz and his team study E. coli genomic diversity and plasmid distributions in wastewater samples over 20 months. They aim to model gene flow and understand barriers to plasmid transmission.
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Plasmid population biology across environments in Rhizobium leguminosarum
Core ProjectSierra 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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Rare insights: Unearthing the microbiome context governing host-microbial symbioses in the periodical cicada
Seed ProjectThis study examines how environmental and genetic factors affect cicada microbiomes, using a rare dual brood emergence to explore host-microbe interactions on a parasite-mutualist spectrum.
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Soybean domestication and transition from a forage legume to oilseed: Do domestication effects change reliance on microbial communities?
Seed ProjectThis study investigates how the domestication of soybean has impacted its relationship with a beneficial bacteria, focusing on changes in microbial reliance and partner quality over time.
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Translating science: Connecting the next generation scientist with K-12 educators
Core ProjectThis seminar helps GEMS trainees develop outreach activities and teaching skills, integrating research with education. It focuses on curriculum development and feedback from licensed educators.
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Understanding the nexus of nutrition, the microbiome, and xenobiotics susceptibility in the honey bee
Core ProjectAdam Dolezal at UIUC and Irene Newton at IU are studying how nutrition, viral infection, and a beneficial bacterium impact honey bee health.
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Untangling multiple ecological drivers of rhizobium evolution under nitrogen enrichment
Core ProjectMackenzie 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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Viral infection changes the outcome of bacterial evolution
Core ProjectResearchers aim to understand how viruses impact bacterial evolution, focusing on viral fitness in environments where vertical transmission is enforced due to a lack of susceptible hosts.
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Wolbachia effects on life-history traits in established and newly invasive mosquitoes across a latitudinal gradient
Seed ProjectExplores the variation of a bacteria prevalence in mosquito populations, aiming to understand its effects on host traits and community dynamics through field surveys and microbial profiling.
Core Projects
Core Projects are our long-term major research initiatives and are collaborative, interrelated multi-PI projects. Short-term funding is also available to our trainees through summer Seed Projects.