In the upcoming spring semester 2021, Prof. Baars will teach a course on “Signaling and Interactions in
the Phytobiome” (PP590 and PP790)”. More information can be found here.
Category Archives: NC State
Opportunity for PhD student!
We are currently looking for a PhD student with an interest in environmental chemistry / analytical chemistry / soil chemistry. Details can be found here.
Plant Health 2020 meeting
We are excited to have two poster presentations at the annual Plant Health meeting by the American Phytopathological Society. Postdoc Vineeta Rai and graduate student Althea Loucanides highlight their recent results, which unravel constitutive and stress-induced root exudation of secondary metabolites in response to biotic and abiotic stressors. Their work builds a foundation to understand the biochemistry of plant interactions with their biotic and abiotic environment below ground.
Welcome to our new team members!
Four new lab members have joined this month: Pathy Fernandez (postdoc in plant secondary metabolism and microbial interactions), Zakkiyah Majeed (technician), Camden Carmichael (undergraduate researcher in microbiology), and Tilak Patel (undergraduate in computer science). Welcome! Congratulations also to our recent Wolfpack graduate, Ashley Jeckel. Good luck with your future endeavors!
Contributing to the Collaborative Crop Resilience Program
The Baars Lab is going to be a part of a large collaborative effort to increase wheat resilience. The project is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and has three major research areas: “Matrix,” “Interact,” and “In Root.” Our lab will focus on the “Interact” sub-project which is our short-hand for the full project title ‘Decoding the Rhizobiota Interactome for Improved Crop Resilience’.
Microorganisms in the root environment provide a wide range of ecosystem services to maintain a healthy environment for plant growth. The goal of Interact is to decode microbial interactions in the complex soil matrix, in relation to various external stresses and the impact of these interactions on plant performance. The Baars lab is excited to dive in and begin to elucidate chemicals in the root environment that are produced by roots and microorganisms for communication, competition, and to mine nutrient resources. The overarching goal is to utilize the potential of microbes to increase plant resilience to common stresses.
To read more about the Collaborative Crop Resilience program and its goals click here.