Microbiome Extended Phenotypes Lab
Welcome to the Favela Lab!
Integrating our understanding of plant and microbiome interactions to improve sustainability. @ University of Arizona
Research
Our lab explores how the interactions between plants and complex microbial communities shape ecosystem function in the context of the Anthropocene.
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Microbial communities (composed of bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses) host an incredible amount of biodiversity and underpin ecosystem processes. Soils host the most diverse and dynamic microbiomes.
Plants have evolved a mechanism to interact with these soil microbiota. We are only beginning to understand the extent and outcomes of these plant-microbiome interactions. Furthermore, these interactions have been relatively ignored by 20th-century agriculture.
Here, we hope to shed light on plant-microbiome interactions and incorporate them to develop next-generation green solutions. Harmonizing with the plant microbiome will lead to achieving functional sustainability through the application of intersectional science.
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