We study the nature, evolution, role, adaptations, and effects of microbes and the communities they build (microbiomes) in their natural habitats, which currently include arid soils, the marine intertidal, atmospheric dust and aerosols, and plant roots. We also keep an eye on the potential applicability of our findings. We are currently engaged in using them in areas such as restoration of degrades soils, predicting effects of climate change on important microbial processes and populations, improving crop production, and interpreting ecosystems from Earth’s distant past.

We use an interdisciplinary approach to answer questions and build knowledge, from traditional ecological and microbiological techniques to molecular biology and genetics, to (bio)chemistry and bioinformatics.

While the organisms of interest to our lab are primarily cyanobacteria, we are also interested in the other microbes that interact with them through mutualisms or pathogenesis.