2024
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.
2023
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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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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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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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Expanding perspectives and participation through GEMS professional learning
Seed ProjectWe study how to create NGSS-aligned curriculum, combining science research and Multiple Ways of Knowing.
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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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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.
2022
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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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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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Development of investigation motivated K-12 curriculum
Seed ProjectAims to develop classroom modules using Daphnia to engage students in hands-on investigations aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, fostering scientific curiosity.
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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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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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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.