Jaqueline Torres

GFI Fellow - Class of 2022

Undergraduate student, entomology
UC Riverside

DESCRIPTION

2022-23 GFI student fellow

Improving crop production and reducing environmental degradation is a vital component of food security because of climate change. One way to combat these issues is promoting methods that increase a plant’s overall efficiency and tolerance to climatic stresses. Plants establish symbiotic relationships with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which supply nutrients to its host plant, enhancing processes like photosynthesis and improving growth while under stressful conditions. Jaqueline’s project seeks to understand how AMF impacts rice drought resilience to establish stronger symbiotic interactions that result in increased nutrient and water uptake, improving overall crop yield during stressful conditions.