Thomas Ledger is an environmental microbiologist and an Associate Professor at Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. He graduated as a Biochemist (U. de Chile), and obtained a PhD in Biological Sciences (P. U. Católica de Chile), studying the genetic factors involved in chloroaromatic organic compound degradation by environmental bacteria. He focused his postdoctoral research project (2008-2010) on the interaction of plants with beneficial bacteria, and the role of these microorganisms on modulating host response to abiotic stress.
During his years at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, he has further studied bacterial phytostimulation, with an emphasis on the specific biochemical traits involved in this phenomenon, such as emission of bacterial volatile compounds to promote plant growth, and deamination of ACC (aminocyclopropane carboxylate), to reduce ethylene synthesis. His current research goal is to understand the global genetic regulatory mechanisms that underlie bacterial adaptation to plant micro-environments, as well as the metabolic signals produced by the host, focusing on the microbial expression of phytostimulatory traits. He hopes the results of these studies to allow field-level design and manipulation of beneficial plant-bacteria interactions, in order to have an impact in agricultural sustainability and resilience in a context of climate change.
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