Presenter: Catherine Jaffe
Faculty Mentor: Brendan Bohannan, Lucas Nebert
Presentation Type: Poster 70
Primary Research Area: Science
Major: Biology, Environmental Science
Funding Source: UROP Mini-grant, University of Oregon UROP, $700
Seedborne pathogenic fungi in the genus Fusarium are prevalent in corn populations and pose human health risks due to their production of carcinogenic mycotoxins. Although much is known about the effects of domestication on the genetics of corn populations, less is understood about the impacts of agricultural management on the inheritance of microbes like Fusarium that live in and around these plants. Our research aims to better understand how networks of seed saving and crop management affect the abundance and transmission of Fusarium in corn seeds. Using preliminary datasets from a Community Research Network of farmers established by University of Oregon PhD student Lucas Nebert, we investigate how efficiently Fusarium is transmitted through seed saving networks and whether certain varieties of corn are prone to higher abundances of seedborne Fusarium. Additionally, we examine which agricultural practices affect the transmission of Fusarium from parent to offspring. We also gather and analyze new data using an interdisciplinary mix of interviews with farmers, in-lab DNA analysis techniques, and multivariate statistical tests. Since Fusarium population dynamics are a product of both the microbial ecology within the seed and human agricultural practices, this interdisciplinary approach provides a clearer window onto how agricultural methods influence microbial inheritance in seeds. Although our results are preliminary, we expect to see Fusarium abundance vary according to corn species, as previous studies have shown that microbial communities tend to be more similar between closely related plant varieties. The results of our research may have wide reaching implications due to the ubiquity of Fusarium and their potential to impact methods of sustainable agriculture.