To the public, viruses may be looked at as a negative when it comes to plant health. Carolyn Malmstrom thinks some viruses could be beneficial to native Michigan crops.
Malmstrom, a professor in the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University, studies the switchgrass virome - a collection of viruses - to understand how natural viral symbionts influence plant stress tolerance and local adaptation.
Switchgrass, which is from the same plant family as corn and wheat, is an important low-maintenance native grass that spans across North America.