Ashley E. Beck

This study quantifies how specific membrane surface area (sMSA) constrains Escherichia coli growth rates and energy metabolism across aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

This study uses differential proteomics to compare bacterial growth in vitro and in planta, identifying species-specific strategies for root colonization.

The paper develops a theory linking cell geometry, membrane protein crowding, and metabolic traits in E. coli, validated through experimental data.

The paper uses genome-scale metabolic modeling to study interactions in a maize root-associated synthetic community, showing root exudates enhance metabolic diversity and interspecies interactions.

The paper develops a minimal growth medium for a maize root-associated microbial community to study plant-microbe interactions in controlled settings.

The paper tests how environmental conditions affect the fitness of microbial consortia with different metabolite exchange strategies, finding that a lactic acid-exchanging consortium outperformed wild type under weakly buffered conditions but not under highly buffered conditions.