• Cellular mechanisms of thermotolerance of plants adapted to geothermally heated environments
• Nature of fungal-plant mutualism in contributing to stress tolerance
• Plant physiology and plant community structure in naturally high-CO₂ volcanic environments

Plants constitute an important part of the geothermal landscape in Yellowstone National Park. Such plants, adapted to the thermal extremes imposed by these environments, are valuable resources for thermal biology research. Studying these plants will provide a better understanding of cellular factors involved in eukaryotic thermotolerance and the role of plant-microbe interactions in heat adaptation. Recent findings have shown that thermotolerance can be generated by symbiosis between the perennial grass Dichanthelium lanuginosum and the fungal endophyte Curvularia sp. Primary goals of our research are to elucidate the cellular mechanisms of thermotolerance in plants adapted to the extreme conditions of geothermal soils, with special consideration of the roles of fungal symbiosis in contributing to stress tolerance in these plants.

A secondary objective has been to investigate high-CO₂ geothermal environments in Yellowstone with regard to plant physiology and plant community structure. Information generated from this project will contribute to current research on global climate change and the effects of increasing CO₂ levels on plant productivity and plant community composition in both managed and natural ecosystems, and will be used in grant proposals to obtain funding from non-TBI sources.

Much of our research has been completed in collaboration with fellow TBI faculty member, Joan Henson. Together our research broadens TBI’s research activity, focused primarily on prokaryotes and viruses, to include eukaryotic thermal biology.

Current Laboratory Personnel

Dr. Thamir S. Al-Niemi, Postdoctoral Scientist
John Noreika, M.S Student

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