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Differences In Soil Bacterial Diversity After Treatment With Benzyl Isothiocyanate, An Allelopathic Secondary Metabolite Derivative Of Alliaria Petiolata (Garlic Mustard), Samantha Pagel

Undergraduate Student Research

The species, Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard), has overtaken the understory of North American forests for over a century, but how the plant has become invasively successful is not well understood. There is some indication that the secretion and breakdown of its allelopathic metabolic compounds, known as glucosinolates, contribute to its success. Benzyl isothiocyanate, an end product of garlic mustard glucosinolate breakdown, has been found in previous studies to inhibit seed germination and the growth of certain mycorrhizal fungi species. Soil bacterial communities, in addition to fungi, play an important role in the surrounding abiotic and biotic environment. This study aims …