Kevin Daniel Santiago-Morales

###Lab
[Sarah Lebeis](https://directory.natsci.msu.edu/Directory/Profiles/Person/101743)

###Research interests
How rhizosphere bacteria can affect plant development during nutrient stress, specifically under phosphorus deficiency.

###Quick Profile

**What got you interested in plants and plant science?**
I have a passion for microbiology, hence why I majored in it for my BS, and my research interests lie mainly in host/bacterial interactions. I’ve worked with animal hosts before, but I decided to make the jump to plant hosts because I wanted to explore other types of interactions. My decision to switch to plant hosts was easy because of my love for plants. It was my grandmother who introduced me to gardening at a very young age, and my love for plants comes from helping tend her garden back in Puerto Rico. I am grateful that I can combine these two passions into a research project.

**What is your research about?**
My research is focused on understanding how rhizosphere bacteria can affect plant development during nutrient stress, specifically under phosphorus deficiency. I use a synthetic community of microorganisms isolated from plant tissues to replicate interactions we’d expect to see in the wild. I’m also interested in how this community can affect root structure by the catabolism or anabolism of auxin, and how this might tie together into a plant’s responses to phosphorus deficiency.

**What is the potential societal impact of your research?**
This could have potential applications to how plants are fertilized. Phosphorus fertilizers have low efficiency rates due to rapid precipitation and immobilization. Coupling fertilizer with bacterial communities capable of mineralizing phosphorus could increase fertilizer efficiency and reduce the need for their application.

**On a Saturday afternoon, you'll likely find me:**
kayaking, gardening or enjoying the outdoors.