The University of Illinois was awarded a $166,372 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology to support collaborative research on seed-fungal interactions and their influence on tropical tree recruitment. The four-year award, effective March 1, 2023 through February 28, 2027, will fund research and training under the NSF's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074).
Specifically, the grant will support research investigating how seed chemistry influences susceptibility to fungal infection and pathogenicity, and how the physical environment and maternal genotype impact fungal community composition and host susceptibility across landscape scales. The project aims to elucidate intrinsic seed defenses and extrinsic contingencies determining seed-fungal interaction outcomes in the tropics. It will provide research training for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates while also supporting outreach and education. Findings seek to further understanding of how fungi influence plant recruitment with relevance for diverse wild and agro-ecosystems.