Microbial Evolution and Ecology

Research in Luo Lab has been focused on the population genetic mechanisms giving rise to the genomic diversity among marine microbial lineages. We use genomic and bioinformatic approaches to investigate the role of selection, drift, mutation, and recombination in assembling genetic diversity at different timescales. The research outcomes have implications for climate change, paleo-oceanic processes, and marine conservation. We are becoming broadly interested in ecologically important microbial lineages in the environment, and have recently initiated genomics research on soil bacteria.