UROP Project
Harnessing Plant-Associated Bacteria to Improve Drought Resilience
Plant-microbe interactions, microbiology, genetics
Research Mentor: Dr. Gara Dexter,
Department, College, Affiliation: Biology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: gnd25@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Prof. David Thoms
Faculty Collaborators Email: dto22@fsu.edu
Department, College, Affiliation: Biology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: gnd25@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Prof. David Thoms
Faculty Collaborators Email: dto22@fsu.edu
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: biochemistry, biological science,
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: biochemistry, biological science,
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Project Description
Plant-associated bacteria produce an enormous diversity of metabolites and bioactive compounds that can affect plant health, the majority of which have not been characterized. Understanding how these compounds influence plant responses to environmental stressors like drought is especially important because water availability is one of the major environmental constraints on plant growth and agricultural productivity. Identifying bacterial metabolites that help plants maintain growth and survive under drought conditions could reveal new mechanisms of plant-microbe interaction and provide new tools for improving plant resilience to drought stress.The overall goals for the project are: 1) establish a reliable experimental system for measuring drought responses in Arabidopsis, 2) identify bacterial strains or compounds that improve plant performance during simulated drought conditions, and 3) investigate the biological basis of promising drought-protective effects.
Research Tasks: Plant growth and maintenance, bacterial culture, preparation of media and experimental treatments, drought-stress assays, data collection and analysis, literature review, experimental troubleshooting, scientific writing, poster presentation.
As the project progresses, the student may also participate in experiments designed to characterize promising bacterial treatments and identify candidate bacterial compounds or pathways associated with drought protection.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Willingness to learn, reliability, attention to detail, scientific curiosity
Recommended: A strong background in biology.