Investigating the modes and consequences of bacterial evolution in microbiomes
Britt Koskella, Professor
Integrative Biology
Applications for Fall 2024 are closed for this project.
In natural systems, microorganisms interact with myriad other microbial populations which influence their evolution and ecology. When associated with a eukaryotic host, these complex microbial communities (known as microbiomes) also interact with and impact their host’s ecology and evolution, nutrient acquisition, and pathogen susceptibility. Despite the microbiome's vast importance on its host, less attention has been paid towards understanding the drivers of microbiome evolution and the importance of individual bacterial evolution within a microbiome.
To study microbiome evolution and its consequences, we will be evaluating the results of (co)evolution experiments using bacteria and plant hosts. The experiment consisted of inoculating tomato plant seedlings with one of three Pseudomonas species: P. syringae, P. moraviensis, and P. rhodesiae. The Pseudomonas were left to grow on the seedlings either alone or with the addition of a standardized synthetic microbial community. After the evolution experiment, the evolved Pseudomonas strains will be analyzed for changes in growth rate, abundance, and effects on their plant host. The aims of the project are: 1) to compare and contrast the effect of community on bacterial evolution, 2) to assess the consequences of individual trait evolution on microbiome function and host fitness, and 3) to understand how community context affects bacterial genome evolution.
Role: Students will learn and implement a wide array of techniques involved with microbiology (preparing bacterial culturing media, plating bacteria, quantifying bacterial density, creating bacterial inoculum), horticulture (plant microbial inoculations, sterile sampling), and bioinformatics (whole genome sequencing of evolved strains and analysis). Learning outcomes include sterile technique, bacterial culturing, microbiome analyses, data collection, statistical analysis, preparation of manuscripts for publication.
Qualifications: We are seeking a highly motivated student with interest in the following research areas: microbiology, ecology, and evolution. Some microbiology lab work experience with sterile technique is helpful, but enthusiasm, passion, organization, and thoughtfulness towards the scientific process is most important.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Tiffany Batarseh, Post-Doc
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Related website: https://naturesmicrocosm.com/
Related website: https://tiffanybatarseh.weebly.com/