Root Microbiome Dynamics in Drought-Tolerant and Susceptible Bermudagrass Cultivars Under drought

This project investigates how root-associated microbial communities contribute to drought tolerance in warm-season turfgrasses, including bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and St. Augustinegrass. Using 16S rRNA, ITS amplicon sequencing, and shotgun metagenomics, microbial communities were characterized across bulk soil, rhizosphere, and root endosphere under progressive drought stress. The goal is to identify microbial taxa and functional genes associated with drought resilience and plant microbiome interactions.