Barcoding the Sagebrush Phyllosphere Culture Collection
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Leonora Bittleston, Boise State University
Presentation Date
7-2023
Abstract
The phyllosphere is the above-ground part of plants that represents a vital ecological niche inhabited by diverse microbial communities. Within the leaf phyllosphere, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate) plants host a rich assemblage of microbes that play significant roles in plant health, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem functioning.
Sagebrush has a unique chemistry which could suggest that these microbes are likely to have the ability to metabolize complex compounds such as camphor and terpenoids that are found in its leaves.
This ability makes the study of these microbes very interesting and could potentially be medically important.
The objective of this study is to barcode microbes that were isolated from big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate) leaves over a one-year period using the conserved ITS region of the DNA.
Barcoding is a method of species identification and it is the first step to uniquely identify these microbes before further genomic studies to explore their functional attributes.
Barcoding the Sagebrush Phyllosphere Culture Collection
The phyllosphere is the above-ground part of plants that represents a vital ecological niche inhabited by diverse microbial communities. Within the leaf phyllosphere, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate) plants host a rich assemblage of microbes that play significant roles in plant health, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem functioning.
Sagebrush has a unique chemistry which could suggest that these microbes are likely to have the ability to metabolize complex compounds such as camphor and terpenoids that are found in its leaves.
This ability makes the study of these microbes very interesting and could potentially be medically important.
The objective of this study is to barcode microbes that were isolated from big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate) leaves over a one-year period using the conserved ITS region of the DNA.
Barcoding is a method of species identification and it is the first step to uniquely identify these microbes before further genomic studies to explore their functional attributes.