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Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Doctoral Dissertations

Microbiome

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Unraveling Plant-Microbe-Microbe Interactions: Host And Microbial Colonization Determinants Across Experimental Scales, Bridget O'Banion May 2023

Unraveling Plant-Microbe-Microbe Interactions: Host And Microbial Colonization Determinants Across Experimental Scales, Bridget O'Banion

Doctoral Dissertations

Plant microbiomes are assembled and modified through a complex milieu of biotic and abiotic factors. Despite dynamic and fluctuating contributing variables, specific host and microbial mechanisms are likely important mediators of interactions. We combine information from large-scale datasets across diverse plant hosts with experimental genetic manipulation assays in model Arabidopsis seedlings to converge on a conserved role for metabolite production and transport in mediating host-microbe interactions. Applying a diverse set of analytical tools to microbial communities at various complexity levels will advance our knowledge of the scalability of observed phenotypes and, ultimately, help to decipher the mechanisms dictating plant–microbe interactions …


More Than The Sum Of Their Parts: Building A Framework For Understanding Host-Microbe Interactions In Medicago Sativa, Katherine Mackenzie Moccia Dec 2020

More Than The Sum Of Their Parts: Building A Framework For Understanding Host-Microbe Interactions In Medicago Sativa, Katherine Mackenzie Moccia

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to understand plant-microbe interactions in the agriculturally relevant plant Medicago sativa from three distinct vantage points within microbiology. Within the plant microbiome, we examine how primer usage and the application of peptide nucleic acids impacts 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing. In doing so, we design a novel peptide nucleic acid, PNA, and test its impact using multiple primers and sequencing protocols. Once microbial sequencing methodology is established, we generate a synthetic consortium of bacterial isolates from M. sativa leaves and modulate nitrogen levels to better understand microbial structure. Drop out communities, where we remove one member …


Extracting Detailed Metabolic Information And Connections From Mammalian Gut Microbiomes Via Metaproteomics, Jose A. Blakeley-Ruiz Dec 2020

Extracting Detailed Metabolic Information And Connections From Mammalian Gut Microbiomes Via Metaproteomics, Jose A. Blakeley-Ruiz

Doctoral Dissertations

A diverse community of bacteria populates the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. These populations exist in a balance with the host assisting with key functions, particularly metabolism of intractable fibers and immune modulation. Disruption of this balance can lead to diseases such as infection, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and obesity. Common symptoms include chronic pain, chronic inflammation, and altered metabolism. Several taxonomic classifications of bacteria have been associated with these diseases, but Recent studies have indicated that these finding are not always statistically valid. An explanation for this is that microbial communities between individuals and even across time can vary substantially even when …