Publications by authors named "Natalie E Ford"
Article Synopsis
- Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, refers to the enhanced characteristics of hybrid plants compared to their parent lines, with recent research highlighting the impact of soil microbes on this phenomenon in maize.
- The study explored how different soil microbial communities, sourced from active maize farms versus prairies, influenced heterosis expression and found that variations were specific to the local microbial environment.
- While a nutrient amendment boosted heterosis in agricultural soil conditions, the overall results indicated that while microorganisms do affect heterosis, non-living environmental factors play a more significant role in driving these effects.
Plant-associated microbes, specifically fungal endophytes, augment the ability of many grasses to adapt to extreme environmental conditions. (Eastern gamagrass) is a perennial, drought-tolerant grass native to the tallgrass prairies of the central USA. The extent to which the microbiome of contributes to its drought tolerance is unknown.
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