Projects – Firestone Lab

Decades of research have identified key microbial mediators of terrestrial nutrient cycling, their edaphic sensitivities, and the functional genes and enzymes involved. While many aspects of bacterial, fungal, and microfaunal mediation of nutrient cycling are understood, the organisms involved interact in the complex biotic milieu of soil; we have little understanding of how these interactions shape nutrient cycling in soil. Our project asks how cross-kingdom and within-kingdom interactions provide a functional framework for N cycling in soil. Do greater complexities of biotic interactions result in a more robust N-cycle with higher rates of turnover and nutrient transformation? We propose to explore the effects on N- and C-cycling of predation, competition, and cooperative/antagonistic interactions—among viruses, bacteria, archaea, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), saprotrophic fungi, microfauna, and roots. Our extensive past research on soil nutrient dynamics, pathways of root C-f

Decades of research have identified key microbial mediators of terrestrial nutrient cycling, their edaphic sensitivities, and the functional genes and enzymes involved. While many aspects of bacterial, fungal, and microfaunal mediation of nutrient cycling are understood, the organisms involved interact in the complex biotic milieu of soil; we have little understanding of how these interactions shape nutrient cycling in soil. Our project asks how cross-kingdom and within-kingdom interactions provide a functional framework for N cycling in soil. Do greater complexities of biotic interactions res