Janice Thies
Soil Biology

722 Bradfield Hall (607) 255-5099 E-mail: jet25@cornell.edu B.Sc. 1976 Botany, University of Washington M.Sc. 1986 Microbiology, University of Hawaii Ph.D. 1990 Microbiology, University of Hawaii Thies Lab Website: Janice Thies is an associate professor of soil biology who joined the Cornell faculty in 2000. Professor Thies began her research career at the NifTAL Project (Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Agricultural Legumes) in Hawaii where she worked on rhizobial ecology in tropical agricultural systems. She has worked on various aspects of microbial ecology at Oregon State University,the Cooperative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) in Perth, Australia, and at the University of Western Sydney in NSW, Australia. Since coming to Cornell,she has developed a large research program on soil microbial ecology.

Research Program Janice's research program focuses on three main areas: · the influence of soil management practices and transgenic crops on soil microbial activity, abundance and community structure, · the development of biofertilisers and biopesticides for use in low-input agriculture, and · bacterial source tracking to improve water quality assessment and management. The common theme in my research is the use of molecular methods to address previously intractable ecological questions about microbial life in the soil environment, including issues of the survival of introduced bacteria, the persistence of genes conferring enhanced survival and competitiveness, and mechanisms of genetic exchange. Of particular interest are the consequences of these activities for microbial population structure and functioning in agroecosystems. Molecular methods are being used to define dominant microbial populations and monitor shifts within them in response to varying management practices. In all of my programs, I try to maintain a balance between advancing our understanding of basic ecology and microbiology while at the same time applying these principles to help resolve applied problems in agricultural management.

Courses Taught CSS 466 Soil Ecology CSS 666 Applied Plant/Microbe Interactions Current Grants USDA, Biotechnology Risk Assessment, Hatch. Assessing the comparative risk of CRW transgenic corn and insecticide on the soil microbial community. Bt corn USDA, Alternatives to Methyl Bromide. Preplant soil compost and fumigation, rootstock disease resistance and soil microbial species diversity as factors in apple replant disease. Apple Replant Disease Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. Use of entomopathogenic fungi to control the alfalfa snout beetle. Alfalfa Snout Beetle USDA-NRI. Re-coupling C and N cycling to increase nutrient use efficiency in annual cropping systems. Recoupling C/N Cycling Hatch Multistate Initiatives S-297. Molecular approaches to bacterial source tracking and their potential use in monitoring total maximum daily loads. Source Tracking USDA-AEP. Use of Traditional and Molecular Approaches to Evaluate the Impact of Soil Management Practices on Soil Biology. Selected Publications Thies,J.E., E.M. Holmes and A-M. Vachot. 2001. Application of molecular techniques to studies in Rhizobium ecology. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 41:299-319. Thies, J.E., G. Wikstra and C. Ronson. 1999. What does strain persistence really mean? In: Martinez-Romero et al. (eds). Highlights of Nitrogen Fixation Research. Plenum Press. Brockwell, J., P.J. Bottomley, and J.E. Thies. 1995. Manipulation of rhizobia microflora for improving legume productivity and soil fertility: A critical assessment. Plant and Soil 174:143-180. Thies, J.E., P.W. Singleton, and B.B. Bohlool. 1991. Modelling symbiotic performance of introduced rhizobia in the field by use of indices of indigenous population size and nitrogen status of the soil. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 57:29-37.