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Projects
Influences of natural and synthetic antimicrobials on soil communities and functions Soils are increasingly subjected to stress from antimicrobial agents, including agricultural antibiotics used in livestock production. We are conducting field and microcosm experiments to how different antimicrobials alter the functioning of soil ecosystems via changes in microbial composition and/or activity. A related set of experiments focuses on a natural antimicrobial agent: bacteriophages, i.e., viruses that infect bacteria. We are investigating responses of soil microbial communities and soil carbon cycling following experimental additions of cultured phage isolates and/or natural virus concentrates extracted from soil. Related Publications Osburn, E.D., Yang, G., Rillig, M.C., Strickland, M.S. 2023. Evaluating the role of bacterial diversity in supporting soil ecosystem functions under anthropogenic stress. ISME Communications 3:1-10. Trait-based approaches in microbial ecology
Despite the growing catalogue of studies detailing the taxonomic and functional composition of bacterial communities, the basic life history traits (e.g., growth rates) of those communities remain unknown. We are interested in using metagenomic techniques to estimate key life history traits of soil bacterial communities and identify relationships between bacterial life history and soil ecosystem function. We are also interested in exploring how bacterial life history traits vary across environmental variation and in response to global change factors Related Publications Osburn, E. D., Badgley, B.D, Strahm, B.D., Aylward, F.O., and J. E. Barrett. 2021. Emergent properties of microbial communities drive accelerated biogeochemical cycling in disturbed temperate forests. Ecology e03553 Influences of land use legacies on ecosystem functions of soil microbial communities. Terrestrial ecosystems globally are subjected to land management practices such as clear-cut logging, conversion to agriculture, intensive tillage, etc. These disturbances have well-documented influences on the composition of soil communities. We are interested in characterizing the long-term (i.e., multi-decadal) legacies of land use practices on soil microbial communities and how those persistent microbial responses influence contemporary ecosystem functioning. We are also interested in exploring how legacies of past disturbances interact with contemporary stressors (e.g., drought, warming) to influence soil communities and functions. Related Publications Osburn, E.D., McBride, S.G., Barrett, J.E., 2022. Historical forest disturbance reduces soil microbial efficiency across multiple carbon sources. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 165, 108542. Osburn, E. D., Badgley, B. D., Aylward, F. O., and J. E. Barrett. 2021. Historical forest disturbance mediates soil microbial community responses to drought. Environmental Microbiology 23:6405-6419. Osburn, E. D., Aylward, F. O., and J. E. Barrett. 2021. Historical land use has long-term effects on microbial community assembly processes in forest soils. ISME Communications 1:1-4. Osburn, E. D., Elliott, K. J., Miniat, C. F., and J. E. Barrett. 2021. Effects of Rhododendron removal on soil bacterial and fungal communities in southern Appalachian forests. Forest Ecology and Management 496:119398. Osburn, E. D., Simpson, J.S., Strahm, B.D., and J. E. Barrett. 2021. Land use history mediates soil biogeochemical responses to drought in temperate forest ecosystems. Ecosystems. Osburn, E. D., J. E. Barrett. 2020. Abundance and functional importance of complete ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (comammox) versus canonical nitrifiers in temperate forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 145: 107801. Osburn, E. D., McBride, S.G., Aylward, F.O., Badgley, B.D, J. D. Knoepp, Strahm, B.D., and J. E. Barrett. 2019. Soil bacterial and fungal communities exhibit distinct long-term responses to disturbance in temperate forests. Frontiers in Microbiology 10:2872. Osburn, E. D., K. J. Elliottt, J. D. Knoepp, C. F. Miniat, and J. E. Barrett. 2018. Soil microbial response to Rhododendron understory removal in southern Appalachian forests: Effects on extracellular enzymes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 127:50-59. |