A major focus of the research in the Rúa lab focuses on host-microbe-microbe interactions from both an ecological and evolutionary perspective. We use a combination of field, greenhouse, and theoretical studies across a wide range of hosts which allows for a rigorous exploration of host-microbe-microbe dynamics and the ability to fill in current research gaps in ecology and evolutionary biology.
You can find a list of our publications here.
Research Themes
Our studies of community ecology address:
- Host-microbe-microbe interactions: individual host organisms are often concurrently associating with diverse pathogenic and mutualistic microorganisms and these symbionts can have impacts on each other, which may in turn alter their relationships with the host. Individual current and past projects in this area include:
- Mutualist – Pathogen
- Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal – Pathogen Interactions
- Foliar Fungal Endophyte – Pathogen Interactions
- Foliar Bacterial Endophyte – Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Interactions
- HIV-Malaria Coinfections
- Mutualist – Pathogen
- Sources of structure for soil microbial communities: The soil biota is comprised of an enormous amount of global biodiversity and is an important driver for fundamental nutrient and energy flow processes behind ecosystem functioning; however, our ecological understanding of the microorganisms in the soil biota is limited. Current and past projects in this area include:
- Co-Evolution
- Disturbance History
- Local Adaptation
Rúa Microbial Community Ecology Lab 