| Affiliations: |
Sword lab, Entomology https://swordlab.tamu.edu/
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| Project Leader: | Cody Gale codygale@tamu.edu Entomology |
| Faculty Mentor: | Dr. Gregory Sword, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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Friday, 2:30 PM
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Team Size:
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4 (Team Full)
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| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Previous students to work on this project have gone on to present their research at multiple local and regional conferences including the Ecological Integration Symposium and the Beltwide Cotton Conference. Previous students won awards for their research at the Ecological Integration Symposium and the department-wide Entomology Mentorship Symposium. These students are attending a national conference this year in Vancouver. |
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Team Needs:
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Students must enroll in ENTO491 with Dr. Greg Sword for a minimum of 1 credit hour, a departmental requirement. This team will be co-advised by myself and another student/lab manager. Students need to work well in teams, especially pairs. Students are encouraged to engage in public speaking events about the research. Students need to actively and consistently communicate with advisors, yet need to be able to work independently. |
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Description:
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We are interested in the effects of experimental manipulations of the plant microbiome on plant-insect interactions. The plant microbiome has recently been recognized as a major contributor to plant health. We will be treating cotton seeds with spores of certain fungi that are known to affect insect herbivore behavior. We will be assessing the extent to which these fungi colonize the plant and exist as endophytes. We will also assess the ways in which these treatments affect the odor molecules emitted from the plants, as these are known to be important in plant-insect interactions. Students will learn how to rear insects and plants for experiments, how to work in a sterile environment to create microbial cultures, and how to mix and analyze standard solutions for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, plus more. Students who are interested in entomology, plant ecology, and chemical ecology should apply. Students who would like to earn experience with microscopy, GC-MS, and biological experimental designs should apply.
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