Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Gulf Coast CESU

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U.S. Geological Surveyâ¿¿s (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research to explore the plant-microbe interactions in Phragmites australis, with a primary focus in the Great Lakes basin. In order to develop a microbe-based management approach for invasive plants, this research will study samples of Phragmites plants (or related species) grown or collected in collaboration with ongoing USGS studies to isolate, identify, and experiment with microbes (e.g., fungi, bacteria). The goals of this research are to improve our understanding of ways that fungal and bacterial endophytes affect Phragmites invasibility and provide targets for microbial control or enhancement. To better understand the underlying microbial mechanisms of invasiveness in Phragmites and to identify potential control mechanisms, research in three general areas that build upon past and ongoing research: 1) developing in vitro approaches for exploring Phragmites-microbial interactions, 2) testing in planta microbial interactions and effects on host growth and transcriptional responses in controlled environmental conditions, and 3) conducting field trials to explore the potential for controlled inoculations to alter host plant invasiveness and microbial communities under real world conditions.

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