Former SPIRE Scholar Dr. Sarah Lebeis (Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee Knoxville) recently published an important paper in Scienceabout plant defense mechanisms. Her collaborative work with her SPIRE research mentor, Dr. Jeff Dangl in the Department of Biology at UNC Chapel Hill provides insights into how a plant’s immune system can distinguish between bacteria in the microbiome in the soil with the involvement of salicylic acid and other plant hormones in the process. These results can impact the development of sustainable crops for the production of food and fuels.
Sarah L. Lebeis, Sur Herrera Paredes, Derek S. Lundberg, Natalie Breakfield, Jase Gehring, Meredith McDonald, Stephanie Malfatti, Tijana Glavina del Rio, Corbin D. Jones, Susannah G. Tringe, and Jeffery L. Dangl. Salicylic acid modulates colonization of the root microbiome by specific bacterial taxa. Science, 16 July 2015 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa8764