Maria Alejandra Gil Polo
Graduate Student
Research Summary
Measuring long-term adaptation of rhizobia and non-rhizobia bacteria to different alfalfa varieties
Graduate Advisor
Huck Affiliations
News Articles Featuring Maria Alejandra Gil Polo
May 04, 2026
Plant genes influence bacterial evolution in legume-bacteria partnership
In a recently published study, Penn State researchers described the complex relationship between plant host genes and rhizobial genes, and how plant genes strongly influence which rhizobial strains plants chose from a diverse mixture.
Full Article
Apr 14, 2026
Plant scientists receive $1.96M NIH grant to study plant-bacteria partnerships
A team of plant scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has received a $1.96 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund a study of how beneficial plant-bacteria partnerships evolve, persist, and can be harnessed to improve health and agriculture. This grant, called a Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award, supports a lab's long-term research vision rather than an individual project.
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Aug 22, 2023
One Health Microbiome Center's 2023-24 Interdisciplinary Innovation Fellows
The One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC) in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has named five recipients for its 2023-24 Interdisciplinary Innovation Fellowships (IIF) program.
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