“Corals constitute the core of coral reef ecosystems.  In turn, coral reef ecosystems comprise an essential component for many countries, including the U.S., serving as barriers from ocean waves, providing food for the population, and income from the tourist industry.  The majority of corals are colonies of creatures living in a cup, coral polyps, that are connected to each other with tissue.  The underlying assumption about coral colonies, similar to the approach to cells in humans and other mammals, is that the polyps in a colony arose from a single coral genotype.   But, what if a single coral colony was actually composed of multiple coral genotypes, which is referred to as a biological chimera?  This study challenges the assumption of the genetic identity of coral colonies.”

Biology professors Jason Hoeksema and Peter Zee, along with 19 other co-authors from five countries (including former Biology post-doc Megan Rua and former Biology PhD student Bridget Piculell) recently published a paper in the journal Communications Biology that resulted from a 15-year collaboration. The group was trying to understand why plants sometimes derive big benefits from associating with root-inhabiting mycorrhizal fungi, and sometimes do not (even occasionally suffering parasitism from those fungi). They analyzed results from more than 400 previously published papers and found that much of the answer lies in evolutionary history, with some of the original evolutionary origins of mycorrhizal symbiosis (e.g., in the bean family) leading to much less beneficial relationships with plants compared to others. In addition, evolution has led to specificity in plant benefits, whereby particular groups of plants benefit much more from being paired with particular groups of fungi. These results not only enhance our basic understanding of the variable benefits derived by plants from their relationships with soil microbes like these fungi, but may also aid in choosing which fungi to inoculate on plant roots for forestry, agriculture, horticulture, and restoration purposes. Read more about the history of the group’s research collaboration in this blog post by Dr. Hoeksema.

Zanethia was featured in an article about women in science by the USDA. Check out the article,  https://srs.fs.usda.gov/women-in-science/zanethia-barnett/

PhD graduate student, Zanethia Barnett, gave a talk at the recent International Association of Astacology (crayfish) conference in Pittsburgh.  She won best student oral presentation for her talk:

Detectable Effects of Impoundments on the Genetic Structure of Crayfish (Faxonius spp.) in Alabama 43-Years After Dam Closure

Former Biology honors student, Taylor Patterson, and Dr. Carol Britson are featured in a blog post by Sina Walker. Sina is the Scientific writer and content developer at ADInstruments. Her blog, “Enjoying your Easter Egg? How the type of chocolate you like is linked to your eating behavior…” tells how Taylor’s research found that the type of chocolate your prefer is linked to textural attributes and eating behaviors.  Check out the blog post here.

Congratulations to the winners of the 8th Annual Research Symposium, Stephanie and Chaz! The Graduate School Council hosts many events throughout the year, but Research Day is of paramount importance.

Stephanie took 1st place for STEM with her advisor, Dr. Ryan Garrick in the podium session. Chaz took second place.

Please see the attached document for the 2018 grant recipients for the podium and poster sessions for STEM, Pharmacy, Liberal Arts and Education, and Applied Sciences. GSC Recipients March 2018

Two Biology graduate students placed in the University-wide 3-Minute Thesis Competition. Jessica Heppard, working on her Master’s degree with Dr. Rich Buchholz, won first place in the Master’s student category, while Bram Stone, working on his Ph.D. with Dr. Colin Jackson, came in second place in the Ph.D. student category. As part of the competition, graduate students explain their research in 3 minutes, using a single PowerPoint slide. Jessica’s presentation can be seen at https://youtu.be/hD2fA-uEG2A and Bram’s presentation can be seen at https://youtu.be/ncWYgKRDQPI.

Sarah Amonett, an M.S. student in Dr. Susan Balenger’s lab, has been awarded research grants from the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology and the North American Bluebird Society. These awards are highly competitive and will help pay for research supplies related to Sarah’s thesis project, “Maternal antibody transmission against a novel pathogen in Eastern Bluebirds.”

http://www.sicb.org/about/

http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/

Brooke Sykes, an M.S. student in Dr. Susan Balenger’s lab, has been awarded a research grant from the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. This award is highly competitive and will help pay for supplies related to Brooke’s thesis project, “The effects of nest heat manipulation on development, physiology, and parasitism in the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).”

http://www.sicb.org/about/