Kyle Gervers

Fungal biocontrol of Heterobasidion root and heart rots is well established in Norway spruce (Picea abies) forestry, and bacterial isolates from the genus Pseudomonas genus have recently been employed as Heterobasidion biocontrol. However, these isolates come from plants and substrates that are not associated with P. abies forests, and may not persist under natural conditions. My work seeks to test whether strains of Pseudomonas (and the common plant-associated genus, Sphingomonas) naturally dominating spruce and Heterobasidion tissues can outperform biocontrol strains currently approved in Sweden. To do this, I will employ load-based (and strain-level) metabarcoding and metagenomics, large-scale bulk culturing and selective isolation, in planta competition experiments, and in vitro and in planta biocontrol assays against Heterobasidion isolates. The role of specific biosynthetic gene clusters in achieving biocontrol will also be explored by inserting established and novel antifungal pathways into competitive spruce-derived bacterial strains. 

Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University

B.Sc. in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior; University of Texas at Austin

https://github.com/gerverska

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