Humans carry and live with millions of microbes on our skin and inside our bodies. This collection of microbes that associate with us are known as the human microbiome. Just like us, we know that wheat plants also have microbiomes, but we still know very little about who is there, where they came from, and more importantly, what they do. I am inspired to find ways in which we can harness the wheat microbiome to improve yield under drought conditions. Just like we have probiotics or beneficial microbes that we consume to improve our health, we want to discover probiotics for wheat. My research goal is to understand if plants under drought stress are selecting beneficial microbes to pass along to the next generation that correlate with improved drought tolerance. I also want to know if there are some specific functions that the microbiome provides under drought conditions that are beneficial to the wheat plant. My research aims to seed the wheat microbial community to build resilience and increase yield.

Place of employment: North Caroline State University, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology