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Understanding symbiotic interactions between fungi, bacteria and plants

Members of the Bonito Lab study the ecology and evolution of fungal-bacterial associations in soils and the plant microbiome.

Fungi in the plant microbiome provide important links between plants and soils that are functionally important to plant health and nutrition.

In soils, these organisms impact nutrient cycling, metal transport and transformation, and the flow of energy. We also research truffles, mushrooms, and molds and their microbiomes, and the sustainable use of fungi in agriculture and living materials.  

General Expertise

Fungal evolution; Plant microbiomes; Truffle biology; Plant-fungal-bacterial interactions; Microbiome ecology and evolution.

Research Areas

Our research makes use of phylogenetics, high-throughput sequencing, isotope tracers and –omics approaches to better understand:

  1. Phylogenetic and functional diversity of plant-associated fungi.
  2. Environmental and genetic factors that structure microbiome communities.
  3. The evolution and functional relevance of bacterial symbionts of fungi.

Our lab research has applications pertinent to agriculture, forestry, biodiversity and the sustainability of Earth’s life support systems.

Gregory Bonito is an associate professor in the Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University.

Send suggestions and comments regarding this website to Dr. Gregory Bonito

Gregory Bonito's publications on Google Scholar

 

 

 

International Mycological Congress 2018
Bonito lab at the International Mycological Congress in San Juan Puerto Rico, July 2018.

 

Bonito Lab 2022
Bonito Lab 2022

 

Gregory Bonito is an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University.

Send suggestions and comments regarding this website to Dr. Gregory Bonito

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