I am a global change biologist interested in how aspects of global change, including habitat loss, nitrogen deposition, and extreme weather events affect plant microbe interactions, microbe-mediated phenotypes, and emergent properties, such as microbe-mediated local adaptation and microbe-mediated phenotypic plasticity.
For my PhD, I explored microbe-mediated adaptation to limestone barrens in northern New York. To test the idea that microbes mediate patterns of local adaptation I performed a modified reciprocal transplant experiment, moving seeds, soils, and microbes between old-fields and limestone barrens. I found that microbes affected patterns of local adaptation but predominantly in the more stressful, limestone barren habitat.
I am currently working with Dr. Maren Friesen at Washington State University as a United States Department of Agriculture, Postdoctoral Fellow (AFRI-EWD Fellowship). For this project I am exploring how plant domestication and habitat loss affect plant-microbiome interactions, with a special focus on plant nutritional quality. Preliminary results indicate that domesticated chickpea benefits more from local microbes compared to wild chickpea. Follow-up work will explore the consequences on seed nutritional quality and test for differential nodulation of domesticated chickpea compared to wild relatives.
My future work will explore multiple facets of global change biology, including how microbes affect plant adaptation to drought and how nitrogen deposition affects plant-microbe interactions. If you have any questions about my research or want to collaborate please contact me via email reneedotpetipasatwsu.edu or find me on twitter @ReneeHPetipas.