Plant & Microbial Biology

Michi Taga is a microbiologist and a Professor in the Department of Plant & Microbial Biology. Her research investigates nutrient-sharing interactions among bacteria, using vitamin B12 as a model nutrient to understand how microbes interact in complex communities such as the gut and soil. She has recently begun to explore how microbes release intracellular nutrients such as amino acids to support the growth of dependent microbes. Under the Miller Professorship, she will investigate the role of viral lysis in nutrient release and the evolution of nutritional interdependence in microbial...

Our lab studies viruses that infect bacteria—called bacteriophages—and how they shape the biology and evolution of Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera. Using clinical isolates, we investigate how V. cholerae defends itself against phage attack, and how its phages evolve to overcome these defenses. This ongoing conflict plays out in both aquatic reservoirs and the human gut, with direct consequences for cholera transmission and outbreak severity. By understanding these interactions, we aim to uncover new ways to track, predict, and potentially control the spread of this deadly...

I am a plant pathologist investigating host immunity to adapted, poorly adapted, and non-adapted pathogens. My research aims to uncover previously unrecognized layers of defense that prevent cell wall penetration and/or restrict subsequent intracellular colonization by obligate biotrophs that cause powdery mildew diseases. In parallel, I seek to identify host proteins and processes co-opted by these pathogens to facilitate infection, and to develop innovative approaches for probing pathogenesis mechanisms in these genetically intractable fungi.

Host: Mary Wildermuth
Home Institution...

Tom is a professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Tom studies quantitative genetics and genomics of plants with an emphasis on physiological traits and local adaptation. Tom’s work has recently focused on studies of C4 perennial grasses and adaptation along latitudinal gradients in North America.

Additional Terms
Miller Fellow, 1999 - 2002, Integrative Biology

Host: Benjamin Blackman
Home Institution: University of Texas

My research focuses on studying organic matter across modern and ancient environments, from their lifetime within surface environments today to their formation within interstellar space. As a Miller fellow, I will work to better understand how plant-derived organic matter is degraded and preserved in soil, and how genetic controls on the structure of this organic matter can affect its fate.

Host: Patrick Shih

Ph.D. Institution: Caltech

Flowering plants exhibit a remarkable diversity of reproductive strategies, many of which enhance cross-pollination while balancing trade-offs between male and female function. My research explores the evolutionary origins and genetic mechanisms underlying sex-specific temporal mating strategies across diverse groups of hermaphroditic flowering plants. By integrating comparative genomics, phylogenetics, population genetic models and molecular genetics, I aim to uncover why and how these temporal strategies have evolved and are maintained over time.

Hosts: Noah Whiteman, Ben Blackman

Ph.D...