Borges, Isabela

Plants interact with a variety of micro-organisms in the soil, and many of those affect plant fitness. Legumes, in particular, take part in a mutualism with nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria that live in their roots and provide them with resources. However, the same structures and mechanisms that beneficial bacteria use to live in plant roots can also be exploited by parasitic nematodes. For my fellowship, I will explore how different environments in the LTER affect the distribution of beneficial nematodes and parasitic nematodes in legumes' roots.