We just got the news that Lilisbeth Rodríguez-Castro, was awarded a STRI short-term fellowship . These are highly competitive and prestigious fellowships to foster research on tropical settings, especially Panama.

Lilisbeth will continue her fascinating work on the only epiphytic gymnosperm, Zamia pseudoparasitica. Her work is part of her master’s thesis in the Program of Environmental Microbiology at the Universidad de Panamá.  She’s looking into the functional genomics of the phyllosphere microbiota of this charismatic plant to understand the role of the symbiosis  in the local nutrient budget.

Zamia pseudoparasitica (as in all cycads) is known, otherwise, for a symbiotic relationship with cyanobacteria in its coralloid roots. The research by Lilisbeth will expand our knoledge of the species and its role in the nitrogen dynamics of the tropical Panamanian canopy.

Congratulations Lilisbeth ! Well-done !