Achievement

The research of Marnie Rout, 2011 IGERT graduate, was recently presented at the American Society of Microbiology 2012 General Meeting in San Francisco, CA. This work, “What makes a plant invasive? It might be a matter of microbes”, suggests that several invasive plant traits are under microbial regulation in one of the world’s most successful invaders, Johnsongrass. The findings show that growth rate/biomass, competitive effects on a native grass, and herbivore defense were all enhanced in the presence of bacteria that inhabit the below-ground plant tissues (bacterial endophytes). Importantly, this work highlights the relevance of the plant-soil microbiome and the role it plays in plant and soil health. The findings suggest that microbes play substantially larger roles in the plant invasion processes; this idea can potentially transform our understanding of invasion ecology. This work will also be featured in upcoming editions of Microbe Magazine and Science News.