Date Time OSU scientists taking deep dive into how microbiomes respond to human-caused stressors CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University scientists have received a $3 million National Science Foundation grant to study how communities of microorganisms respond to human-caused stress and how the responses relate to the health of the people, plants and animals that host the microbes. “We want to determine how microbiomes react to things like water temperature increases resulting from climate change and exposure to environmental chemicals,” said OSU College of Science microbiology professor Rebecca Vega Thurber. “The goal is to develop frameworks for predicting how host-microbiome interactions respond to environmental variation, which holds huge implications for optimally managing the health of people, wildlife, livestock and agricultural plants.”