Dr. Kathryn Atherton
@k8eatherton.bsky.social
✨ In my Doctoral Era
👩🏻🔬 Boston U PhD 2025
🚂 Purdue Alumna 2019
👩🏻🔬 Boston U PhD 2025
🚂 Purdue Alumna 2019
You can also take a look at my "Behind the Paper" blog for Nature to learn more about how we went from soil to this microbial story!
go.nature.com/4nJcP0j
go.nature.com/4nJcP0j
The dysregulated microbiome of city trees
Cities are investing in planting trees, but we don’t fully understand how city living affects trees and the other organisms it houses. We found that urban oak trees lose their microbial symbionts whil...
go.nature.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
You can also take a look at my "Behind the Paper" blog for Nature to learn more about how we went from soil to this microbial story!
go.nature.com/4nJcP0j
go.nature.com/4nJcP0j
Thanks to @vivianla.bsky.social for covering this paper in @wbur.org! Check out her article here:
www.wbur.org/news/2025/10...
www.wbur.org/news/2025/10...
City living isn't good for a tree's microbiome, study shows. Here's what that means
A new study from Boston University researchers found that the city's oak trees have more pathogens and plant decomposers. With fewer "good" microbes, experts worry about how that might impact ecosyste...
www.wbur.org
October 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Thanks to @vivianla.bsky.social for covering this paper in @wbur.org! Check out her article here:
www.wbur.org/news/2025/10...
www.wbur.org/news/2025/10...
Huge thanks to my brilliant coauthors, mentors, and collaborators (including @chikaetatsumi.bsky.social) at Boston University, our funders, including
@buurban.bsky.social, @buoncities.bsky.social, and to the oak trees that made it possible. 🌳💚
Reach out if you want me to send along the pdf!
@buurban.bsky.social, @buoncities.bsky.social, and to the oak trees that made it possible. 🌳💚
Reach out if you want me to send along the pdf!
October 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Huge thanks to my brilliant coauthors, mentors, and collaborators (including @chikaetatsumi.bsky.social) at Boston University, our funders, including
@buurban.bsky.social, @buoncities.bsky.social, and to the oak trees that made it possible. 🌳💚
Reach out if you want me to send along the pdf!
@buurban.bsky.social, @buoncities.bsky.social, and to the oak trees that made it possible. 🌳💚
Reach out if you want me to send along the pdf!
Caring for city trees means caring for their microbiomes. 🌿
Healthy soils, cleaner air, and diverse plantings can help “rewild” city microbiomes, making urban forests more resilient for all of us. 💚
Healthy soils, cleaner air, and diverse plantings can help “rewild” city microbiomes, making urban forests more resilient for all of us. 💚
October 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Caring for city trees means caring for their microbiomes. 🌿
Healthy soils, cleaner air, and diverse plantings can help “rewild” city microbiomes, making urban forests more resilient for all of us. 💚
Healthy soils, cleaner air, and diverse plantings can help “rewild” city microbiomes, making urban forests more resilient for all of us. 💚
These changes were tied to urban stressors: heat 🌡️, drought 💧, and air pollution 🚗.
Even more surprising: city tree microbiomes had a higher potential to produce greenhouse gases and less ability to remove methane. 🌍
Even more surprising: city tree microbiomes had a higher potential to produce greenhouse gases and less ability to remove methane. 🌍
October 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
These changes were tied to urban stressors: heat 🌡️, drought 💧, and air pollution 🚗.
Even more surprising: city tree microbiomes had a higher potential to produce greenhouse gases and less ability to remove methane. 🌍
Even more surprising: city tree microbiomes had a higher potential to produce greenhouse gases and less ability to remove methane. 🌍
🍂 City trees lose many of their beneficial fungal partners that help them absorb water + nutrients.
🦠 Instead, they gain pathogens and decomposers, including microbes linked to plant, animal, and human health.
🦠 Instead, they gain pathogens and decomposers, including microbes linked to plant, animal, and human health.
October 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
🍂 City trees lose many of their beneficial fungal partners that help them absorb water + nutrients.
🦠 Instead, they gain pathogens and decomposers, including microbes linked to plant, animal, and human health.
🦠 Instead, they gain pathogens and decomposers, including microbes linked to plant, animal, and human health.
These microbes help trees grow, fight disease, and even influence ecosystem health. But… city life changes everything. 🌡️
We studied oak trees from downtown Boston to rural Massachusetts forests, and saw dramatic shifts in their microbiomes.
We studied oak trees from downtown Boston to rural Massachusetts forests, and saw dramatic shifts in their microbiomes.
City living isn't good for a tree's microbiome, study shows. Here's what that means
A new study from Boston University researchers found that the city's oak trees have more pathogens and plant decomposers. With fewer "good" microbes, experts worry about how that might impact ecosyste...
www.wbur.org
October 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
These microbes help trees grow, fight disease, and even influence ecosystem health. But… city life changes everything. 🌡️
We studied oak trees from downtown Boston to rural Massachusetts forests, and saw dramatic shifts in their microbiomes.
We studied oak trees from downtown Boston to rural Massachusetts forests, and saw dramatic shifts in their microbiomes.