Ira L. Baldwin Professor of Bacteriology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences
Cameron Currie's research focuses on the ecology and evolution of symbiotic associations between animals and microbes. Currie's lab utilizes a cross-disciplinary approach incorporating ecological, evolutionary, behavioral, genetic, and microbiological approaches and employs molecular ecology and phylogenetic techniques to examine how microbes shape the biology of higher organisms. The lab's main study system is the quadripartite association between fungus-growing ants, their fungal cultivars, mutualistic bacteria, and specialized garden pathogens.
Research Interests
- Symbiotic associations between animals and microbes
- Symbiosis in fungus-growing ants
- Microbe and microbial community deconstruction of plant biomass in nature
- Identification, characterization, and systems biology analysis of cellulolytic microbes and microbial communities