Ayesha Badar is a postdoctoral researcher at Forman Christian College. There, she investigates how beneficial plant-associated microbial communities can suppress cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) and reduce agricultural dependence on chemical pesticides. In this Postdoc Portrait, she discusses the importance of her work.
Harnessing Plant Microbiomes for Crop Resilience
Q | What scientific problem are you trying to solve?
I'm interested in finding sustainable, and field-friendly, ways to protect plants from diseases, with a particular focus on CLCuD, a major threat to cotton production. My research explores how the plant microbiome, the diverse community of beneficial microbes living in and around plants, can help suppress this viral disease by strengthening the plant's natural defenses. By identifying and harnessing helpful microbial communities from disease-resistant plants, I hope to develop environmentally friendly solutions that reduce dependence on chemical treatments while improving crop health, resilience, and long-term agricultural sustainability.
Q | What drew you to studying plant microbiomes?
Growing up in an agricultural country, I saw how plant diseases can directly affect farmers' livelihoods and the economy. The declining textile industry in my country, driven in part by the devastating impact of CLCuD, motivated my team and me to look for innovative scientific solutions. I became fascinated by the idea of applying the concept of human gut microbiome transplantation to plants, using beneficial microbial communities from healthy, disease-resistant plants to help protect susceptible ones. This approach offers the potential to reduce reliance on hazardous insecticides and pesticides while providing a more sustainable way to manage plant diseases and improve crop resilience. Right now, my focus is to develop a microbial based cohort that is potential and easy enough for the farmer to use.
Q | What’s one thing you learned from your research that you didn’t expect?
One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that science in the laboratory and science in the field can be very different. A solution that works under controlled laboratory conditions doesn't always perform the same way in real agricultural settings, where plants face complex environmental challenges. Spending time interacting with farmers and seeing these realities firsthand taught me the importance of designing research that is not only scientifically sound but also practical, scalable, and relevant to the people who will ultimately benefit from it.
Advancing Sustainable Agriculture and Genetic Insights
Q | If your research succeeds, what could it change for science or society?
It could help shift the way we manage plant diseases, from relying heavily on chemical pesticides to using the plant's own microbiome as a natural line of defense. For science, it would provide new insights into how beneficial microbes interact with plants and how these relationships can be engineered to improve crop health. For society, it could lead to more sustainable farming practices, healthier ecosystems, and improved food and fiber security. Ultimately, I hope this work contributes to protecting cotton production while reducing the environmental impact of modern agriculture.
Q | What question are you most excited to answer next?
I am most excited to broaden my knowledge on how microbiome-associated genes can be identified and harnessed across different crop systems to naturally improve disease resistance and stress resilience. While we've learned a great deal about the plant microbiome, we still know relatively little about the plant genes that govern these beneficial interactions. Understanding these genes could open the door to developing crops that are better at recruiting and maintaining helpful microbes, making sustainable agriculture more effective across a wide range of species.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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