Investigate patterns in the interactions among organisms and their environments—from the molecule to the biosphere
Students in Penn State’s Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology:
Penn State graduate students Natalie Ford and Mackenna Yount will spend this summer engaging in hands-on research with industry experts at the Hilden, Germany, headquarters of QIAGEN, a global leader in biotechnology for life sciences diagnostics, equipment and research.
Trichoderma species — a common fungus found in soils — have varying abilities to promote tomato plant growth and differentially affect the abundance of certain soil bacteria, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. The work was the latest in a line of research evaluating the use of this common group of fungi as an alternative to pesticides for controlling soilborne pathogens, said Seogchan Kang, professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences and co-corresponding author of the study.
A team led by Penn State biologists found that amphibians in connected natural forests and aquatic habitats were more likely to host beneficial skin microbes that inhibit a deadly fungal pathogen. But when these habitats become spatially separated due to planted crops, infrastructure development or other human land use, those microbial defenses weaken and pathogen infection levels can increase with potentially deadly results.
Penn State graduate students Natalie Ford and Mackenna Yount will spend this summer engaging in hands-on research with industry experts at the Hilden, Germany, headquarters of QIAGEN, a global leader in biotechnology for life sciences diagnostics, equipment and research.
Trichoderma species — a common fungus found in soils — have varying abilities to promote tomato plant growth and differentially affect the abundance of certain soil bacteria, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. The work was the latest in a line of research evaluating the use of this common group of fungi as an alternative to pesticides for controlling soilborne pathogens, said Seogchan Kang, professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences and co-corresponding author of the study.
A team led by Penn State biologists found that amphibians in connected natural forests and aquatic habitats were more likely to host beneficial skin microbes that inhibit a deadly fungal pathogen. But when these habitats become spatially separated due to planted crops, infrastructure development or other human land use, those microbial defenses weaken and pathogen infection levels can increase with potentially deadly results.
A team of plant scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has received a $1.96 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund a study of how beneficial plant-bacteria partnerships evolve, persist, and can be harnessed to improve health and agriculture. This grant, called a Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award, supports a lab's long-term research vision rather than an individual project.
