Skillsets
- Molecular Biology Techniques – DNA and RNA isolation; PCR and real time PCR; Western blot analysis; ELISA; General enzyme activity assay; protein expression in bacteria and purification; DNA sequence analysis; GUS assay; plant hormone jasmonic acid isolation and quantification with GC-MS; plant growth regulators for growth and stress test.
- Microbial Characterization – N-fixation assay; P solubilization assay; siderophore production assay; auxin production assay; ACC deaminase activity assay; bacterial colonization bioassay.
- Plant Tissue Culture and Micropropagation – A large-scale Miscanthus x giganteus micropropagation technique; Rice anther culture.
- Plant Transformation Techniques – Gene cloning; Vector construction; dsRNA interference; biolistic and Agrobacterium transformation techniques; rice, maize, switchgrass, alfalfa, and tobacco transformation.
- Chemical Analysis Techniques – Familiar with analytic chromatographic techniques, such as GC, HPLC, and GC-MS.
Recent Publications
- Chretien RL, Burrell E, Evans MR, Lowman S, Mei C. 2024. ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) deaminase producing endophytic bacteria improve hydroponically grown lettuce in the greenhouse during summer season. Scientia Horticulturae 327:112862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.112862
- Amaradasa BS, Mei C, He Y, Chretien RL, Doss M, Durham T, Lowman S. 2024. Biocontrol potential of endophytic Pseudomonas strain IALR1619 against two Pythium species in cucumber and hydroponic lettuce. Plos One 19(2):e0298514. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298514
- Mei C, Zhou D, Chretien RL, Turner A, Hou G, Evans MR, Lowman S. 2023. A potential application of Pseudomonas psychrotolerans IALR632 for lettuce growth promotion in hydroponics. Microorganisms 11, 376. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/2/376
- Mei C, Amaradasa BS, Chretien RL, Liu D, Snead G, Samtani JB, Lowman S. 2021. A Potential Application of Endophytic Bacteria in Strawberry Production. Horticulturae 7(11):504. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7110504
- Mei C, Chretien RL, Amaradasa BS, He Y, Turner A, Lowman S. 2021. Characterization of phosphate solubilizing bacterial endophytes and plant growth promotion in vitro and in greenhouse. Microorganisms 9(9):1935. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9091935
- Mei C, Amaradasa S, Sikaroodi M, Zhang X, Gillevet P, Nowak J and Lowman S. 2021. Potential application of plant growth promoting bacteria in bioenergy crop production. In: Microbiome Stimulants for Crops. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822122-8.00014-5.
- Amaradasa BS, Turner A, Lowman S, Mei C. 2020. First report of southern blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii in industrial hemp in southern Virginia. Plant Dis 104(5):1563.
- Kearl J, McNary C, Lowman JS, Mei C, Aanderud ZT, Smith ST, West J, Colton E, Hamson M, Nielsen BL. 2019. Salt-tolerant halophyte rhizosphere bacteria stimulate growth of alfalfa in salty soil. Front Microbiol 10:1849. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01849
- Zhou D, Mei C, Chretien RL, Amaradasa S, South K, Lowman S, Evans MR. Growth promotion and disease control of hydroponic spinach utilizing beneficial bacterial endophytes. Oral presentation in American Society of Horticultural Sciences annual meeting held in Chicago, IL, 7/30/2022- 8/3/2022.
Recent Invited Presentations
- Invited to participate in a Symposium on Endophytic Microbes for Crop Nutrition: Reality or Myth? hosted by Gates Foundation in Seattle, WA, May 2023
- Bacterial endophyte application in CEA. CEA in the next 20 years hosted by USDA and NASA in Toledo, OH, June 2023
- Improvement of Lettuce Production and Disease Inhibition in Hydroponic Systems Utilizing Beneficial Bacterial Endophytes. US Biostimulants Summit, Raleigh, North Carolina, July 2023
- Plant Growth Promotion and Disease Inhibition Utilizing Beneficial Bacterial Endophytes. 7th Partnerships in Biocontrol, Biostimulants & Microbiome Congress: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, October 2023
- Characterization of Bacterial Endophyte Library and Their Applications. ACI US Biostimulants Summit 2021, April 2021, Raleigh, NC, USA
