Tiffany Truong
Culturing Recalcitrant Bradyrhizobium Strains For The Host Range Assay
Genista monspessulana (French broom) is a European shrub invasive in California. As a legume, it has a mutualistic relationship with Bradyrhizobium, soil bacteria that infect its roots, live in nodules, and fix atmospheric nitrogen in exchange for sugars. Our lab has been exploring the relationships between bacteriophages and Bradyrhizobium collected from California and European populations of French broom. We’ve encountered some stubborn strains (they don’t grow easily) and are now investigating their requirements to achieve higher density. We’re examining a range of factors, from nutrient limitations to pH changes resulting from metabolic pathways, as well as phage burst size, all in order to gain a deeper understanding into these Bradyrhizobium strains. By exploring these experiments, we aim to expand our understanding of how bacteriophages might be used to control invasive French broom via a form of phage therapy.
Message To Sponsor
I want to express my sincere gratitude to my donor for providing me with this award. I am super excited to continue my URAP research from the school year into the summer! This opportunity will allow me to better grow and learn as someone interested in pursuing microbial ecology!