Livia Titley

I work with a type of soil bacteria called rhizobia, which can form a symbiotic relationship with leguminous plants. In this relationship, the rhizobia live inside specialized root structures called nodules where they convert atmospheric nitrogen (a critical element for life) into ammonia (a biologically available form of nitrogen) in exchange for host resources. 
I am conducting competition-based research experiments to determine which rhizobial strains from southern Ontario are the best at both fixing nitrogen and competing for nodulation on legume plants. I am also investigating which genes may specifically help rhizobia to compete and fix nitrogen effectively by using gene knock-out experiments. 
The overarching goal of my MSc is to support the development of the first rhizobial inoculant specifically suited to the conditions of southern Ontario to reduce our usage of unsustainable nitrogen fertilizers in legume agriculture.