Program: Investigating the role of host-associated microbial communities in Pseudotsuga menziesii seedling response to drought stress
March 10 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Monday, March 10, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Program: Investigating the role of host-associated microbial communities in Pseudotsuga menziesii seedling response to drought stress
Presenter: Abby Neat, Oregon State University
Location: Cordley Hall Room 2602, Oregon State University, Corvallis or register below for Zoom
https://oregonstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/I_uzqFWcTA-s1eOe1Y17Fw
Abbey Neat is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University working with Dr. Posy Busby. Abbey uses Douglas-fir as a model system to understand how plant-fungal interactions vary in different climates. One goal of her PhD is to characterize the foliar and soil fungal communities found across the Western Oregon Cascades elevation gradient. Using DNA sequencing techniques, she found over 2,000 species of fungi associated with three of the dominant tree hosts, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and pacific yew! Another goal of her PhD is to understand the role of fungal symbionts in mitigating Douglas-fir seedling response to drought, and how this role might change when seedlings are sourced from different climates. This was accomplished through a large greenhouse experiment using over 1,000 Douglas-fir seedlings in a simulated drought. She has found initial results indicating that microbes influence plant response to drought, along with other fun results including that microbes might influence other aspects of plant physiology including germination timing, growth, and budburst timing.
