Soil microbes alter plant fitness under competition and drought
New research from former UTM Biology undergrads and grad show that soil microbes alter fitness of plants experiencing competition and drought!
Plants exist across varying biotic and abiotic environments, including variation in the composition of soil microbial communities. The ecological effects of soil microbes on plant communities are well known, whereas less is known about their importance for plant evolutionary processes. Here, Zainab Mustafa, Joani Viliunas, and Connor R. Fitzpatrick show that soil microbes can have large effects on plant fitness and natural selection across varying levels of competition and drought, which depend on both plant genotype and ecological context.
Congratulations to Zainab Mustafa, Joani Viliunas, and Connor R. Fitzpatrick from Marc Johnson Lab (UTM)!