The Benitez Ponce laboratory studies plant-associated bacteria, communities of fungi, and interactions with other organisms
within agricultural systems. Our research interests and experience lie in the intersection between agricultural management strategies, plant pathogen pressure, microbial communities, and plant health. As plant pathologists/microbial ecologists my team applies genetics, genomics, and ecological principles to study microorganisms at the community level. Our work has been focused on crop diversification in soybean production, soil fungi and SCN interactions, and the microbiology of leafy green hydroponics. The core of this program is to address how production practices affect multiple microbial taxa, their interactions, and their influence on plant pathogen incidence and plant health, at various spatial and temporal scales. My long-term goal is to contribute to the implementation of sustainable management practices through understanding the ecology of crop production systems, including the interactions between native and augmented microorganisms, and the abiotic environment.
Current research questions and projects include:
1) Fungi, nematode, soybean interactions;
2) microbial community dynamics and function within leafy green hydroponics;
3) mechanisms through which agricultural practices contribute to the build-up of beneficial microbial populations; and
4) how the abiotic environment modulates microbial-microbial interactions that influence plant disease development.
We collaborate with microbiologists, ecologists, and agronomists, as well as extension specialists, producers, and educators. In addition, our laboratory mentors undergraduate and graduate students, and professional researchers, who receive training in agroecosystems, microbial ecology, data analysis, and science communication. My laboratory applies high-throughput molecular techniques and bioinformatic approaches to characterize the diversity and function of microbial communities in plants and the environment in which they grow. We combine this with field and greenhouse experimentation, on-farm surveys, and single isolate characterization, and integrate our results through multivariate data analyses.