Summary
In nature, organisms often work together in mutually beneficial ways. However, while theory predicts these beneficial relationships reduce variation in both partners, real-world evidence often contradicts this, especially for bacteria that can thrive with or without plant hosts. This project investigates whether plant host presence over time and space helps maintain bacterial variation. The focus is on an ecologically, agriculturally, and economically important interaction between leguminous plants and their mutualistic bacteria, which convert atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form inside str
