Research interests

RESEARCH INTERESTS AND GOALS

1. Exploring the biological diversity of microorganisms in natural ecosystems. I have been using traditional cultural and/or morphological methods, and modern molecular techniques including Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (T-RFLP), Length Heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR), cloning and sequencing, studying the biological and functional diversity of microorganisms in ecosystems, which provided evidences for understanding the ecosystem consequences of spatial heterogeneity in microbial communities under alternative agricultural practices. I have also incorporated the univariate and multivariate analyses for microbial diversity and community studies, looking at how microbial community changes following alternative agricultural practices, disturbances, climate change and other human influences. At University of South Florida, I worked on a project using molecular cloning and sequencing to profile global soil animal for understanding the relations of soil communities with aboveground diversity and ecological processes. In my present research, I continually apply culture dependent morphological (plate culture, Bio-log), biochemical (PLFA, GC-FAME, and enzyme analysis) and cultural independent molecular (LH-PCR, T-RFLP, cloning and sequencing, Pyrosequencing, Microarray, Quantitative real-time PCR) approaches to comprehensively understand microbial diversity, communities and functions. With accurate information on the patterns of distribution of microbial biodiversity and functional diversity, we can manage soil, water and sediment ecosystems; rigorously understand the structure and interactions of microbial communities; and model ecosystem function to predict regional sustainability of ecosystems and food production, and global environmental change scenarios.

2. Studying microorganisms responsible for organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling processes. The litter and plant roots are critical sources of organic carbon for the detrital food web and primary nutrient sources, such as N, P and S, for plant growth; however, the identity and ecology of the organisms influencing their decomposition and nutrient releasing remain a mystery. I have investigated the interaction between ectomycorrhizal fungi and saprotrophic microorganisms that decompose litter and their response for N cycling in a forest ecosystem. Following the previous of my research, I will continuously test the colonization dynamics of the decomposer communities and their function in nutrient mobilization/immobilization from molecular levels through the cutting-edge molecular methods such as T-RFLP, LH-PCR, cloning and sequencing, and next generation sequencing. The influence of carbon supply, as well as N deposition on trophic interactions between decomposer microorganisms and ecological factors affecting the decomposition and nutrient cycling processes will be explored in order to understand the relationships of microorganisms to rates of ecological processes and sustainable production.

3. Understanding the interactions among microbial populations and microbial interactions with plants and/or animals. I will be concentrated on discriminating the functional genes of microorganisms, which are related to sustainability of ecosystems, and exploring the interactions between different groups of microorganisms and their relation with sustainable production and environmental qualities. Understanding population interactions and relating biodiversity of microorganisms with ecosystem functions will be the priority in my future studies. I will link molecular ecology, physiology, pathology, systematics and ecosystem functions as an integrity, which presents not only unique challenges but also unique opportunities for understanding the complexity of population interactions in ecosystem processes.