What’s in the spit?

Bond LSC is now producing monthly segments for KBIA, Columbia’s NPR station at 91.3 FM.

This month highlights the work of Melissa Mitchum, a molecular plant nematologist at Bond LSC and an associate professor of Plant Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

She studies nematodes, a pest that cost soybean farmers billions of dollars each year. Her lab recently helped discover that this tiny parasite produces molecules that mimic plant hormones in order to siphon nutrients from soybean roots.

Tune in at 12:30 to hear her profile or visit the Soundcloud link above to hear the segment.