Britt Koskella in the greenhouse

Research Bio

Britt Koskella is an evolutionary ecologist interested in the role that species interactions play in shaping the genotypic and phenotypic diversity found in nature. Her lab combines natural, observational studies of microbial ecology with experimental evolution and greenhouse studies to test fundamental theories in coevolution, disease ecology, community assembly and function, and host-pathogen interactions. Using multiple plant systems (including tomato plants, pear trees, pitcher plants, and more), her group explores how the plant microbiome establishes and functions, how it protects its hosts against disease and other environmental stressors, and how bacteriophage viruses might impact these processes. By unraveling the dynamic ecological and evolutionary relationships between hosts, symbionts and their pathogens, we aim to increase plant resilience to global change and increase agricultural sustainability.

Research Expertise and Interest

Bacteriophage, Microbiome, plant-pathogen interactions, disease ecology, agricultural sustainability, Environmental Microbiology of Bacteria and Viruses, plant microbiome, evolutionary ecology

In the News

How do you cultivate a healthy plant microbiome?

A new study by University of California, Berkeley, microbial ecologists used experimental evolution to help identify the core microbiome of commercial tomatoes. They selected for those microbial taxa that best survived on the plants and then showed that these “domesticated” microbial communities are able to effectively fend off random microbes that land on the plants. In other words, these selected communities look like a stable, healthy plant microbiome, akin to what a robust tomato plant might pass to its offspring.

When it comes to climate change, don’t forget the microbes

Scientists are rightly focused on anticipating and preventing the major impacts that climate change will have on humans, plants and animals. But they shouldn’t forget the effect on Earth’s microbes, on which everything else depends, warns a group of 33 biologists from around the globe.

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.
December 9, 2019

Manipulating plant microbiome could yield healthier crops, cut chemical use, study shows

Genetic Literacy Project
Offering hope to farmers interested in cultivating healthy crops with less fertilizer and pesticides, a team of microbial ecologists has used experimental evolution to identify the core microbiome of commercial tomatoes. The microbiome, which helps the plant naturally fight off pestilent microbes, could be managed with probiotics and other measures, leading to healthier crops and fields. "I see the implications of this work not just being about probiotics, but also about guiding agricultural practice," says assistant integrative biology professor Britt Koskella, the study's lead author. "When planting fields, we should be thinking about how what we do -- whether it is age structuring of crops or monocropping versus crop rotations, what is in the soil or what is living nearby -- can impact the acquisition and health of the plant microbiome. We should be manipulating the growing conditions in a way that microbial transmission is more akin to what would happen naturally." For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.
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Teaching

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