Xiomy J. Pinchi-Davila

My main motivation to be FFAR Fellow was to get exposed to new experiences and get out of my comfort zone. By collaborating with other scientists, NGO representatives and industry mentors, I will gain unique knowledge that cannot be learnt solely from my academic mentors. I think that any career path I follow after my PhD will require me to be proficient in communicating with others, management, and being able to work in a multidisciplinary team. And this program offers exactly what I am looking for! I see the FFAR Fellows program as a unique opportunity to grow not only professionally but personally. I am very excited to learn more about myself, my strengths, weaknesses and ways to improve myself to become the scientist I always wanted to be. Currently, I am undecided whether I want to stay in academia or work in industry and/or NGO entities. But one thing I am sure of is that I want to work in a place where I can conduct research and help farmers grow healthier and profitable crops. I am hopeful that the FFAR Fellows program will help me explore new career options, experience science from different perspectives and find the career path I want to follow after my PhD.  

In this photo, I am using liquid nitrogen to grind roots for DNA extraction and subsequent microbiome characterization.

In the next five years, the global demand for biofuels is projected to grow by 28%. To supply biofuel demand and reach the goal of Net Zero Emissions by 2050, it is crucial that feedstocks used for biofuel production are grown sustainably to avoid negative impacts on biodiversity, food prices, food availability and freshwater system. Sorghum bicolor has emerged as a promising genetic model for biofuel feedstock research due to its worldwide use, high productivity, stress tolerance and low input requirements. Sorghum’s ability to tolerate harsh environments may be enhanced by its association with microorganisms that colonize the roots (root-microbiome).

The long-term goal of my dissertation is to harness sorghum-root microbiome interactions to improve feedstock for sustainable biofuel production amidst climate change. I aim to better understand the ecological mechanisms shaping sorghum-root microbiome assembly under drought stress. Root microbiomes play critical roles during plant growth, enhancing tolerance to abiotic stress, increasing nutrient uptake, and improving disease resistance and plant fitness. In my research, I will directly address the Next Generation Crops vision of developing climate resilient and profitable crops. In the first two chapters of my dissertation, I aim to disentangle host age, length of drought and drought severity to investigate how root exudation profiles in response to drought differ during plant development, ultimately affecting the ability of biofuel sorghum to recruit beneficial microbe associations to ameliorate stress and maximize biomass. In my third chapter, I will test if microbe arrival order induces strong priority effects over arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization, host interaction outcome, and root-microbiome structure and composition. Results from my study will contribute to the feasibility of incorporating beneficial microbiomes to grow biofuel feedstock environmentally responsibly, particularly in marginal lands with minimal inputs.

In this photo, I'm harvesting sorghum to collect roots for microbiome characterization. This photo was taken at 5 am in Maricopa, Arizona, 2023.

My sponsor is the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) of the University of Georgia. CAES focuses on providing a safe food supply, clean environment and a better life for everyone. Specifically, the Office of Research supports extension, production, startups and transfer of technology to promote the all-around growth and economy of the university, state, and nation.

I am very excited to partner with CAES to build long-life connections with farmers, industry, government, and non-academic professionals. Microbiome research seems very difficult to integrate into real life farming, this is why I am very hopeful that by partnering with CAES, I will learn ways to transfer and apply the results I will obtain from my dissertation to the field. I hope that results from my research could be used to develop better management strategies to enhance crop production.

In this photo, sorghum plants are in a hydroponic solution to extract root exudates. 

When I am not doing science and playing with roots, you can easily find me either crocheting, gardening, or drawing kawaii fungi stickers. You could find my designs at @myco.fan on Instagram! I also love cooking, especially desserts. If I wasn’t a scientist, I think I would be a baker. Lastly, my dream would be to have a plant nursery and live close to the beach.