We aim to collect samples of Acmispon wrangelianus and Acmispon brachycarpus, small legumes that grow in serpentine soil and as well as in non-serpentine soil types. My lab is collecting this plant across California to assess how the nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria in its roots adapt to heavy metals in serpentine soils. Our project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, NSF-IOS 1755454. We hope to understand how these bacteria tolerate heavy metals in natural serpentine soils in order to improve bioremediation of anthropogenic heavy metal pollution.

Approved