Areas of Interest: We are broadly interested in the biology and biochemistry of microbes and microbial communities in soil and associated with plants. We use the tools of microbial ecology, genetics and biochemistry in an effort to understand the myriad roles of microbes in plant health, agricultural yield and postharvest quality of agronomic plants. We also have an interest in the microbial ecology of fermentation.

These niches select for a remarkably diverse collection of bacteria and their associated biochemistry. Here you’ll find bacteria that fix nitrogen, degrade plant material, synthesize antibiotics, degrade pollutants and contribute essential roles in the biogeochemical cycling of organic and inorganic materials. Because the vast majority of these bacteria cannot be cultured using traditional microbiological techniques, we know little about the biochemistry contributing to their survival under these highly variable physicochemical conditions.  

We use both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods for functional analysis of microbes; this includes the tools of genetics, genomics, metagenomics and biochemistry. Our aim is to understand the basic biology underlying bacterial processes and to apply this knowledge to issues in agriculture and biotechnology.