Plant-Microbiome-Ecosystem Interactions
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.
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.
