What We Do
The Igwe Lab at Virginia Tech investigates how plants and microbes adapt to their local environments over time and then examines how these changes affect the broader ecosystem.
How We Do It
Our research primarily uses traditional, modern, and emergent techniques related to ecology, genomics, and microbiology.
Why We Do It
The knowledge we gain indulges our curiosities and helps to conserve ecosystems, restore degraded soils, and develop stress-tolerant crops and organisms.
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Team
COMING SOON!
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Publications
- Plant species within Streptanthoid Complex associate with distinct microbial communities that shift to be more similar under drought
- Plant phenology influences rhizosphere microbial community and is accelerated by serpentine microorganisms in Plantago erecta
- Organic management promotes natural pest control through altered plant resistance to insects
- Bacterial communities differ between plant species and soil type, and differentially influence seedling establishment on serpentine soils
- Effects of agricultural management on rhizosphere microbial structure and function in processing tomato plants