Sohini Guha, Dr.

Sohini Guha is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Liana Burghardt's Lab.  Her research focuses on plant–microbe interactions, particularly the ecological and genetic mechanisms that shape symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. She combines greenhouse experiments, microbial genomics, and evolutionary approaches to understand how host plants influence microbial fitness and how microbial genetic variation affects symbiotic outcomes.

Sohini’s work investigates how plant hosts and environmental contexts shape competition among rhizobial strains, with the broader goal of improving the sustainability of biological nitrogen fixation in agricultural systems. Her recent research examines how mutations in plant symbiosis genes influence the selective landscape experienced by rhizobial populations and how microbial genes contribute to competitive colonization of plant roots. Her work has been published in journals including The ISME Journal and Environmental Microbiology.

She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Calcutta and has held visiting research positions at the University of Oxford and the James Hutton Institute. In addition to research, she has extensive teaching and mentoring experience and is actively involved in peer review and scientific outreach within the plant–microbe research community.

Publications

1.  Sohini Guha, Regina B Bledsoe, Jeremy Sutherland, Brendan Epstein, Gwendolyn M Fry, Vikram Venugopal, Siva Sankari, Alejandra Gil Polo, Garrett Levin, Barney Geddes, Nevin D. Young, Peter Tiffin and Liana T. Burghardt, (2026) Mutations in legume symbiosis genes that influence symbiosis create a complex selective landscape for rhizobial symbionts. The ISME Journal, https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrag005
2. Elizabeth L. Paillan., Alejandra Gil Polo, Sohini Guha, Andy Swartley and Liana T. Burghardt (2025) Nodule branching, size, and symbiosis outcomes shaped by natural genetic variation in rhizobia and alfalfa. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.27.684485
3. Jennifer E. Harris, Regina B. Bledsoe, Sohini Guha, Haneen Omari, Sharifa G. Crandall, Liana T. Burghardt, Estelle M. Couradeau (2025). The activity of soil microbial taxa in the rhizosphere predicts the success of root colonization. msystems, https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.07.627353
4. Sohini Guha *, Molla Firoz, Sarkar Monolina, Iba ́n ẽ z Fernando, Fabra Adriana, DasGupta Maitrayee* (2022) Nod Factor- independent ‘crack-entry’ symbiosis in Arachis. Environmental Microbiology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15888 *corresponding author
5. Sohini Guha, Sarkar Monolina, Ganguly Pritha, Uddin R, Mandal S, DasGupta Maitrayee (2016) Segregation of nod-containing and nod-deficient Bradyrhizobia as endosymbionts of Arachis hypogaea and as endophytes of Oryza sativa in intercropped fields of Bengal Basin, India. Environmental Microbiology https://doi.org/1111/1462-2920.13348

Teaching:

Cumulative teaching experience =  1284 hrs

• Guest lecturer and Expert Panelist, PLANT 461: Root Symbiosis, Penn State University (Fall 2025)
• Topic: Global Challenges to Sustainable Agriculture; 12 undergraduates
• Guest Lecturer, AGRO 410: Root Symbiosis, Penn State University (Fall 2023)
  Seminar: Root Nodule Symbiosis; 20 upper-level undergraduates
• Lecturer, Undergraduate Microbiology Program, Jogamaya Devi College, Kolkata, India (Fall 2016– Fall 2021)