Research in the lab focuses on the ecology and evolution of plant symbioses, using leaf microbes as our main study system. We are particularly interested in understanding how symbiotic microbial communities assemble, and what are the role for their functional traits and phylogenetic history in driving their contemporary distribution and symbiotic associations.

Our current research projects address three main questions:

• What are the main drivers of host species range in leaf bacteria? How does life with plants influence niche evolution (specifically host specialization and generalization) in phyllosphere microbes?
  
• What adaptive mechanisms drive associations between plants and their leaf microbiomes?
  
• What roles does the plant microbiota play in plant resistance or vulnerability to disease and herbivory?

Interested by these research questions? We are recruiting 2 PhD students for projects on host species range of leaf bacteria and on biofilm formation at the leaf surface.