DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Consequences of Indirect Defensive Traits on Microbial Diversity

植物进化出了许多有趣的方式来防御它们的敌人、病原体(通常是真菌等微生物)和食草动物(例如昆虫)。植物用于防御的一种方法是通过提供食物或住所来吸引抑制病原体或草食动物--它们的敌人--的物种。这项研究通过实验来探索提供食物和住所的有效性，这些实验的重点是吃树叶上有害真菌的蠕虫。提供食物的有效性将通过花外蜜腺的实验来探索。花外蜜腺是叶片上的小腺体，可以分泌糖分，吸引蠕虫和蚂蚁。提供庇护所的有效性将通过对叶子进行实验来探索，叶片背面的微小结构是食菌性蠕虫的栖息地。在这项工作中研究的特征，花外油桃和Domatia，非常普遍：它们存在于许多常见的树木和受欢迎的观赏灌木上，以及棉花、咖啡和葡萄等农作物上。此外，这些性状、螨类和真菌之间的相互作用在农业中被用作一种在不使用有害杀菌剂的情况下减少植物病原菌危害的方法。因此，了解它们的进化和生态可以告诉我们如何管理当地生态系统以及农作物和城市景观中的物种互动。本科生将参与这个项目，并在研究中得到指导。同样，也有一个向中学生传达这项工作的计划。

Plants have evolved many interesting ways to defend themselves against their enemies, pathogens (generally microbes such as fungus) and herbivores (insects, for example). One approach plants use for defense is to attract species that suppress pathogens or herbivores -- enemies of their enemies -- by offering food or shelter. This research explores the effectiveness of providing food and shelter through experiments that focus on mites that eat harmful fungi on leaves. The effectiveness of providing food will be explored by experiments with extrafloral nectaries, small glands on leaves that secrete sugar and attract mites and ants. The effectiveness of providing shelter will be explored by experiments with leaf domatia, tiny structures on the undersides of leaves that house fungus-eating mites. The traits studied in this work, extrafloral nectarines and domatia, are very widespread: they are present on many common trees and popular ornamental shrubs, as well as on crop plants such as cotton, coffee and grape. Additionally, the interactions between these traits, mites and fungi are used in agriculture as a way to decrease plant pathogen damage without the use of harmful fungicides. Thus, understanding their evolution and ecology can inform how we manage species interactions in our local ecosystems as well as in our crops and urban landscapes. Undergraduate students will be involved in this project and mentored in research. Likewise, a program is in place to communicate the work to middle school students.