Research Interests

Nuccio’s research focuses on how roots and mycorrhizae affect key microbial processes in soil, such as the decomposition of plant residues and turnover of soil organic matter. She uses metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and isotope technologies (e.g., stable isotope probing, Chip-SIP, radiocarbon) as tools to understand the molecular underpinnings that drive these processes in soil. She is particularly interested in near-surface carbon cycling (0-3m) and the ecological factors that shape the microbial communities living on and around plant roots and hyphae—soil microhabitats known as the rhizosphere and hyphosphere.