Over 85 researchers, students, teachers and invited guests gathered on March 8 and 9, 2021 via ZOOM to present research findings, updates and next steps related to the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS) project. Fifteen students, three postdocs and fourteen faculty researchers participated in delivering Lightning Talks of five minutes each and Flash talks of twelve minutes each throughout the two days. The participants were welcomed to the symposium by Dr. Kristin Bowman-James, University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Kansas, and Dr. Beth Montelone, Interim Vice President for Research, Senior Associate Vice President for Research and Professor of Biology at Kansas State University. Dr. Laura Leff, Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences at Kent State University, delivered the keynote talk on The Stream microbiome: past, present and futures. Invited guest, Pam Lucas, science teacher from Skyline Schools, in Pratt KS, presented how the MAPS project was impacting her classroom and teaching across the state of Kansas. MAPS industry partner representative, Dr. Randy Martin, Global Technical Development Specialist at Valent BioSciences, presented on Valent BioSciences research and career opportunities. The agenda for the symposium is below along with the recording of both days of the symposium.
Day 1, March 8, 2021
Welcome:
Kristin Bowman-James, University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, University of Kansas and Kansas and
Beth Montelone, Interim Vice President for Research Senior Associate Vice President for Research, Professor of Biology, Kansas State University
Keynote Speaker:
Laura Leff, Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences, Kent State University – The Stream microbiome: past, present and future
Project Overview:
- Walter Dodds , KSU University Distinguished Professor of Biology – Thrust 1: Aquatic Microbiome
- James Bever, KU Distinguished Foundation Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Senior Scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey – Thrust 2: Plant Microbiome
- Charles Rice, KSU, Thrust 3: Soil Microbiome, KSU University Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, Mary L. Vanier University Professorship – Thrust 3: Soil Microbiome
- Ben Sikes, Thrust 4: Synthesis, KU Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Associate Scientist, Kansas Biological Survey, Thrust 4: Synthesis
Session 1 – Student and Post Doc Lightning Talks:
- Hannah Dea, KSU graduate student (Plant) – The interactive impact of annual precipitation and land use history on leaf, root, and soil bacterial communities
- Katrina McClure, KU graduate student (EOD) – Developing a Pedagogical Framework for an Undergraduate Summer Research Experience
- Jessica Wilhelm, KU graduate student (Aquatic) – Characterizing stream intermittency using water sensors and time-lapse cameras and biogeochemical implications in Buck Creek, KS (USA)
- Nicole Ginnan, KU postdoctoral researcher (Plant) – Maize Root Microbial Culture Collection
- Janaye Hanschu, KU graduate student (Aquatic) – Nitrogen form and concentrations effects on primary producer biomass, cyanotoxins, and microbiome structure in a eutrophic and mesotrophic lake
Day 2, March 9, 2021
Session 2 – First Award Talks:
- Colby Moorberg, KSU, First Award Assistant Professor of Agronomy – The RhizoPi Automated Minirhizotron Camera System
- Andres Patrignani, First Award KSU Assistant Professor of Agronomy – Exploring the Spatial Variability of Soil Respiration in a Cropland Field
Session 3 – Student and Post Doc Lightning Talks:
- Luisa Garcia, KU REU student (Plant) – The more, the merrier: Does increasing microbial diversity increase plant growth
- James Lin, KSU graduate student (Soil) – Soil Health Across a Kansas Precipitation Gradient
- Kynser Wahwahsuck, KU graduate student (Aquatic) – Land use effect on denirtification and metabolism in six Kansas streams
- Terra Lubin, KU postdoctoral researcher (EOD) – KEES: Outreach in the time of COVID
- Aakash Pandey, KSU graduate student (Synthesis) – Neutrality in MAPS Systems
- Lígia Faria Tavares de Souza, KU graduate student (Soil) – Key source of terrestrial phosphorus availability may decline with warming
- Susan Magnoli, KU postdoctoral researcher (Plant) – Legume response to microbial communities from grasslands varying in land-use history
Invited Speaker:
Pam Lucas, Science Teacher, Skyline Schools (EOD) – Bringing the Prairie to My Classroom
Session 4 – Faculty Flash Talks:
- Charles Rice, KSU University Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, Mary L. Vanier University Professorship (Soil) – Life Below the A
- Sonny Lee, KSU Assistant Professor of Biology (Synthesis) – Elucidating soil microbial function in a monolith experiment: from marker genes to metagenomes
- Sanzhen Liu, KSU Associate Professor of Plant Pathology (Plant) – Bacterium-Enabled Gene Activation by Artificial Transcription Factor for Resolving Gene Regulation in Maize
Invited Speaker:
Randy Martin, Global Technical Development Specialist at Valent BioSciences – Valent BioSciences: Who we are and what we do
Session 5 – Student and Post Doc Lightning Talks:
- Anne Schechner, KSU graduate student (Aquatic) – How do methodological choices influence accurate and precise estimation of river metabolism?
- Theo Michaels, KU graduate student (Plant) – What’s so positive about positive feedback? A nucleation framework for tallgrass prairie restoration
- Gretchen Wichman, KSU REU student (Synthesis/Aquatic) – Release of a nitrate tracer in precipitation to estimate stream and riparian uptake
- Joshua Dimapilis, KSU graduate student (Aquatic) – Watershed Row-Crop Agriculture does not Correlate with Microbial Nitrogen-Cycling Genetic Potential across a Gradient of Eastern Kansas Streams
- Barrett Houchen, WSU REU student (Soil) – Macrophomina phaseolina Hot Spots and Correlations with Soil and Plant Factors
- Marcos Sarto, KSU postdoctoral researcher (Soil) – Modeling land use history and mean annual precipitation impacts in the soil microbial community and soil organic carbon
Session 6 – Faculty Flash Talks:
- Sharon Billings, KU Dean’s Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Soil) – Linking C flows to climate and land use
- Lydia Zeglin, KSU Associate Professor of Biology (Aquatic) – A novel point input to a large river affects water and sediment microbial composition and N-cycling functional potential
Kansas RII Track-2 FEC:
A. Townsend Peterson, University Distinguished Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, KU Biodiversity Institute – Tracking Ticks and the Diseases that they Transmit Across the Central Great Plains
Agenda, Keynote and Invited Speaker Biographies, Presentation abstracts, and Participant List
Recordings of the two-day symposium can be found at:
Day 1 (March 8): https://mediahub.ku.edu/media/t/1_pdmay42w
Day 2 (March 9): https://mediahub.ku.edu/media/t/1_ehcxy2sq