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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.
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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.
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