Alonso Favela

About

Alonso Favela, Ph.D., is an incoming Assistant Professor in the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona, starting in Spring 2024. An Arizona native with roots from Durango, Mexico, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Arizona and completed his Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his doctoral studies under Angela Kent, his research focused on understanding how genetic variation in plants shapes microbiome assembly and function, which sparked his passion for microbial ecology and plant biology. Following his Ph.D., he worked with Steve Allison at UC-Irvine, where his research centered on how diverse plant-microbiome interactions respond to long-term drought conditions. His work integrates plant biology and microbial ecology to explore the dynamics of plant-microbe relationships, particularly in the context of environmental stressors such as drought. Outside of his academic pursuits, Dr. Favela enjoys listening to podcasts, playing video games, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.

Research topics

• Ecology
• Biotechnology
• Biology
• Agronomy
• Environmental science
• Economics
• Genetics
• Agroforestry
• Natural resource economics

Selected publications

• The Impact of Microbial Interactions on Ecosystem Function Intensifies Under Stress

  Ecology Letters · 2024-10-01 · 24 citations

  articleOpen access

  A major challenge in ecology is to understand how different species interact to determine ecosystem function, particularly in communities with large numbers of co-occurring species. We use a trait-based model of microbial litter decomposition to quantify how different taxa impact ecosystem function. Furthermore, we build a novel framework that highlights the interplay between taxon traits and environmental conditions, focusing on their combined influence on community interactions and ecosystem f…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Genetic variation in Zea mays influences microbial nitrification and denitrification in conventional agroecosystems

  Plant and Soil · 2024-05-18 · 12 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Background and Aims Nitrogenous fertilizers provide a short-lived benefit to crops in agroecosystems, but stimulate nitrification and denitrification, processes that result in nitrate pollution, N 2 O production, and reduced soil fertility. Recent advances in plant microbiome science suggest that genetic variation in plants can modulate the composition and activity of rhizosphere N-cycling microorganisms. Here we attempted to determine whether genetic variation exists in Zea mays for th…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sampling and Analysis of the Maize Microbiome

  Cold Spring Harbor Protocols · 2024-09-05 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Maize is an important plant for both global food security and genetics research. As the importance of microorganisms to plant health is becoming clearer, there is a growing interest in understanding the relationship between maize and its associated microbiome; i.e., the collection of microorganisms living on, around, and inside the plant. The ultimate goal of this research is to use these microbial communities to support more robust and sustainable maize production. Here, we provide an overview…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sampling Root-Associated Microbiome Communities of Maize (<i>Zea mays</i>)

  Cold Spring Harbor Protocols · 2024-09-05 · 4 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  The soil microbiome of maize shapes its fitness, sustainability, and productivity. Accurately sampling maize's belowground microbial communities is important for identifying and characterizing these functions. Here, we describe a protocol to sample the maize rhizosphere (including the rhizoplane and endorhizosphere) and root zone (still influential but further from the root) in a form suitable for downstream analyses like culturing and DNA extractions. Although this protocol is written with Zea…

  PublisherDOI

• Education in the Anthropocene: assessing planetary health science standards in the USA

  Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · 2023-09-27 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  The environmental crises defining the Anthropocene demand ubiquitous mitigation efforts, met with collective support. Yet, disengagement and disbelief surrounding planetary health threats are pervasive, especially in the USA. This scepticism may be influenced by inadequate education addressing the scope and urgency of the planetary health crisis. We analysed current K-12 science standards related to planetary health throughout the USA, assessing their quality and potential predictors of variatio…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Angela D. Kent

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  23 shared

• Martin Bohn

  Synopsys (Germany)

  9 shared

• Sierra S. Raglin

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  7 shared

• Henrik Vibe Scheller

  University of California, Berkeley

  6 shared

• Trent R. Northen

  Joint BioEnergy Institute

  6 shared

• Gregory Bonito

  Michigan State University

  4 shared

• Jonathan H. Diab

  Joint BioEnergy Institute

  4 shared

• Lorenzo J. Washington

  University of California, Berkeley

  4 shared

Labs

• Favela LabPI

Similar researchers at University of Arizona

• Judith Brownh-80
• Eliot Hermanh-58
• Mark Beilsteinh-32