Microbes

“[From] the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone circling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.“

– Charles Darwin

Plant-microbial interactions represent an exciting frontier in understanding the complexity and diversity that underpin nutrient dynamics and plant community structure in ecosystems. Recent studies, such as those exploring phyllosphere microbial responses to anthropogenic stressors (Li et al., 2024, New Phytologist), highlight the rich and untapped potential of microbial communities to shape ecosystem processes. Similarly, work on soil priming effects under chronic nutrient inputs (Li et al., 2023, ISME J) and fungal-mediated plant-soil feedbacks in tropical forests (Delavaux et al., 2024, Ecology) reveals how microbial interactions regulate nutrient availability and influence plant competition and coexistence. These findings underscore the intricate and dynamic relationships between plants and their microbial partners, emphasizing the role of microbes as both facilitators of resource acquisition and agents of ecological feedbacks that govern ecosystem stability.

My own research has drawn me to this frontier, inspired by years of work in tropical and subtropical ecosystems, where microbial interactions emerge as pivotal drivers of plant and soil dynamics. The heterogeneity of these systems has pushed me to consider Darwin’s vision of the ‘tangled bank’, hearkening to the idea that ecosystems are networks of interdependent parts. By studying the feedbacks between plant roots, microbial communities, and soil nutrients, I aim to illuminate how these relationships create resilience in the face of disturbance and shape the stability of ecosystems through their constant adaptation and turnover.

Publications:

  1. *Li, J.*, *Petticord, D.F.*, Jin, M., Huang, L., Hui, D., Sardans, J., Peñuelas, J., Yang, X. and Zhu, Y.-G. (2024), From nature to urbanity: exploring phyllosphere microbiome and functional gene responses to the Anthropocene. New Phytologist. Link
  2. Li, J., Liu, Z.F., Jin, M.K., … Petticord, D.F., et al. “Microbial Controls over Soil Priming Effects under Chronic Nitrogen and Phosphorus Additions in Subtropical Forests.” The Nature ISME J 17, 2160–2168 (2023). Link
  3. Delavaux, C.S., Angst, J.K., Espinosa, H., Brown, M., Petticord, D.F., Schroeder, J.W., Broders, K., Herre, E.A., Bever, J.D., Crowther, T.W. (2024). “Fungal Community Dissimilarity Predicts Plant–Soil Feedback Strength in a Lowland Tropical Forest.” Ecology, 105(1): e4200. Link
  4. Leray, M., Wilkins, L.G.E., Apprill, A., Bik, H.M., Clever, F., Connolly, S.R., Petticord, D.F., et al. (2021). “Natural Experiments and Long-term Monitoring are Critical to Understand and Predict Marine Host–Microbe Ecology and Evolution.” PLoS Biology, 19(8): e3001322. Link
  5. Schroeder, J.W., Dobson, A., Mangan, S.A., Petticord, D.F., Herre, E.A. “Mutualist and Pathogen Traits Interact to Affect Plant Community Structure in a Spatially Explicit Model.” Nature Communications., 11, 2204 (2020). Link
  6. Zhi, R., Petticord, D.F., Boughton, E., Guo, Y., Liao, H.L., Reyes, A., Sparks, J., Qiu, J. “Influence of soil phosphorus content on rhizosphere fungal communities in managed subtropical perennial bahiagrass” Submitted to Plant and Soil
  7. Weixia, W., Petticord, D.F., “Characteristics of soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen and their relationships with soil nutrients after a conversion from farmland to orchard or agroforestry in northwest China” In Review at GCB
  8. Li, J., Ma, Q., Petticord, D.F., Frey, D., Op de Beeck, M., Jin, M.K., Zhu, Y., Jin, S., Ying, H., Wang, L., Ding, K., Yang, X., Zhu, Y.G. “Adding Straw to Manure Suppresses Microbial Specialist Taxa and Reduces Overall Antibiotic Resistance Risk.” In Review at Environmental Science & Technology
  9. Petticord, D.F., Zhi, R., Boughton, E., Guo, Y., Liao, H.L., Reyes, A., Sparks, J., Qiu, J. “Phosphorus Dynamics in Low-Input Subtropical Pastures: Root and Rhizosphere Fungi.” In Review at Soil Biology and Biochemistry
  10. Ding, Z., Mou, Z., Li, Y., Liang, C., Wang, J., Wu, D., Hui, D., Lambers, H., Petticord, D.F., Sardans, J., Peñuelas, J., Xu, H., Liu, Z. “Multi-scale Spatial Variation of Soil Microbial Necromass Carbon Mediated by Soil Nitrogen Availability and pH in Tropical Montane Rainforests.” In Review at Catena
  11. Li, J., Ma, Q., Petticord, D.F., Frey, D., Op de Beeck, M., Jin, M.K., Zhu, Y., Jin, S., Ying, H., Wang, L., Ding, K., Yang, X., Zhu, Y.G. “Effects of Persistent Overgrazing on Microbial Community Construction and Functional Genes.” In Review at Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment
  12. Ding, Z., Li, Y., Liu, J., Mou, Z., Wang, J., Wu, D., Hui, D., Sardans, J., Peñuelas, J., Petticord, D.F., Xu, H., Liu, Z. “Topography-driven glomalin-related soil protein accumulation and its contribution to soil organic carbon pool in tropical montane rainforests.” In Preparation for Soil Biology and Biochemistry.
  13. *Monti H.*, *Petticord, D.F.*, Dillard, B., Lucas, J., Sparks, J.  “Interacting stressors influence community assembly and function in an experimentally disturbed grassland” In Preparation for Soil Biology and Biochemistry

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