As previously posted here, former PI Sheila McCormick has been selecting a paper for the cover of each issue of The Plant Journal, and writing a synopsis of the work, after interviewing the authors. Her most recent Research Highlight is about a Gene Stacking Method from the groups of Roger Thilmony and Jim Thomson, in the WRRC (other wing of the building). Click "Read more" for a link to this Research Highlight, and to their paper. Posted 08/06/2018.

Wassim Hage, Nanticha Lutt, and Snigdha Chatterjee joined the PGEC in May. Wassim will be advised by Jennifer Fletcher, Nanticha will be co-advised by Sarah Hake and Jake Brunkard and Snigdha will be co-advised by Barbara Baker and Jake Brunkard. Click "Read more" for details about their Ph.D. projects. Posted 06/16/2018.

Drought remains a critical obstacle to meeting the food demands of the coming century. Understanding the interplay between drought stress, plant development, and the plant microbiome is central to meeting this challenge. They demonstrate that drought causes enrichment of a distinct set of microbes in roots, composed almost entirely of monoderms, which lack outer membranes and have thick cell walls. They showed that under drought, roots increase the production of many metabolites, and that monoderms inhabiting the drought-treated rhizosphere exhibit increased activity of transporters connected with some of these same compounds. The discovery of this drought-induced enrichment and associated shifts in metabolite exchange between plant and microbe reveal a potential blueprint for manipulating plant microbiomes for improved crop fitness. Click "Read more" for a link to the paper. Posted 06/13/2018.