Plant Science Leaders - Nick Talmo, University of Minnesota

Nick Talmo is a PhD student in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he conducts research at the Ranjan Lab on soybean disease resistance.

Raised in Edina, Minnesota, Nick earned his bachelor’s degree at Augsburg University, where his early research experiences sparked his interest in plant-fungal interactions. As an undergrad, he worked on fungal endophytes of soybeans, learning to isolate and culture fungi and explore complex relationships between plants and microbes.

A subsequent summer internship at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center exposed him to large-scale, molecular plant research, further shaping his interest in the molecular mechanisms that underlie plant health and disease.

After graduating in 2016, Talmo spent several years working in a food safety lab, where he gained industry experience and discovered his interest in teaching and mentorship. He later returned to academia, taking a technician role in the College of Biological Sciences at UM before joining the Plant Pathology Department in 2021.

As the first graduate student in a newly established lab, Talmo has played a key role in building its research capacity from the ground up while pursuing integrated field, growth chamber, and molecular studies focused on white mold resistance in soybean.

Conviron sat down with Nick to discuss his career path into plant science, the challenges and rewards of early-career research, and how combining both field and controlled environment studies is shaping his work and future goals.

What drew you to plant science?

I’ve always had interest in plants, even when I was young, helping my parents in the garden. But I didn’t think of it as a career path until I enrolled at Augsburg University. I earned my bachelor’s degree in biochemistry there, and like many undergrads, I started without a clear idea of what I wanted to do in the future.

Augsburg is a small liberal arts school without a large plant science department, but I was really fortunate to work with a plant pathology professor who became my advisor. She offered me an internship working with soybeans, and that research experience turned out to be pivotal. I started working on fungal endophytes, isolating fungi from soybean tissue, growing cultures, and learning about plant–fungal interactions.

As I spent more time with the project, I began to see just how diverse and complex fungal communities were. The fact that so many different species could coexist in a single plant, sometimes helping and sometimes harming it, really drew me in.

My advisor encouraged me to apply for internships beyond Augsburg, which then led me to a summer at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Being around such large-scale plant research and state-of-the-art facilities helped me see all of the possibilities the field had to offer.

I worked on a transgenic Camelina project focused on improving oil quality, which gave me my first real exposure to biotech-oriented plant science research and helped me clarify my interest in molecular approaches.

Those experiences collectively helped me to realize that plant science, and specifically plant-microbe interactions, was where I wanted to be long term.

Why soybeans and white mold?

Soybeans are an incredibly important global crop. They cover about 7% of all agricultural land worldwide and are critical for food, animal feed, raw materials, and biofuels. Because of that scale, even small losses can have major economic and environmental impacts.

My PhD research is on white mold caused by the fungal pathogen sclerotinia sclerotiorum. It’s a challenging disease in northern climates and has a very broad host range. It can infect more than 400 plant species and, under the right conditions, cause near-total crop losses.

From a research perspective, white mold is a compelling system, and from a practical perspective, helping soybeans defend themselves against it has real implications for food security, grower profitability, and environmental sustainability.

If plants can better resist diseases on their own, we can reduce our reliance on fungicides, lower production costs, and limit environmental exposure.

Right now, we're focused on a biosynthetic pathway called the phenylpropanoid pathway. This pathway produces lignin, which all plants have and use for structure, as well as a range of metabolites involved in defense responses. We’re interested in identifying which genes in this pathway contribute to improved resistance against white mold.

Because this pathway exists across plant species, insights from soybean could potentially inform disease resistance strategies in other crops as well. My research specifically involves characterizing these genes, understanding how they’ll respond when plants are challenged by the pathogen, and determining which ones are most promising targets for improving resistance.

Tell us about your day-to-day research activities

It’s a mix of a lot of different things. On any given week, I might be designing experiments, growing plants in growth chambers, culturing fungi on petri plates, inoculating plants, and collecting disease data.

On the molecular side, we do RNA sequencing and other gene expression analyses to understand how plants respond at a genetic level. That requires a fair amount of bench work - extractions, assays - as well as bioinformatics and data analysis.

One of the more interesting techniques I’ve worked with is virus-induced gene silencing, which allows us to temporarily “turn off” specific genes and observe what changes. We use a gene gun for some of this work, which is both technically demanding and, honestly, pretty fun. It’s a powerful way to test gene function, essentially flipping a switch on and off to see what role a gene plays in disease response.

Plant growth chambers are really important at the University of Minnesota. We often use multiple chambers at once to manage different growth stages, temperature and humidity shifts, and light conditions. For example, triggering white mold infection requires precise humidity control and specific light ratios, which modern chambers make possible.

How do controlled studies support field research?

Controlled environments enable researchers to explore precise plant responses under consistent conditions and unlock insights. Field trials then extend these discoveries to real-world ecosystems, allowing us to test finds beyond the lab.

We run our field trials in Wells, Minnesota, an area with historically high white mold pressure, while conducting parallel studies in growth chambers and greenhouses.

Using both approaches gives us more confidence in the results. With that said, fieldwork always comes with a level of uncertainty. During the 2023 growing season, for example, drought conditions resulted in zero infected plants.

It was frustrating, but it also underscored why controlled environment research is so important. When the environment doesn’t cooperate, growth chambers allow the research to keep moving forward.

How does your work shape real-world outcomes?

Improving disease resistance helps reduce crop losses. Fewer losses mean less pressure to expand agricultural land, which matters for a growing global population.

Importantly, we’re not introducing foreign traits. We work with the genes and metabolites soybeans already have, using the plant’s own defense systems more effectively. That makes these approaches more environmentally friendly and potentially more acceptable to growers and the public.

In some cases, we’re also exploring whether naturally occurring metabolites - like salicylic acid - could be used to inhibit pathogen growth and reduce fungicide use. These compounds are already produced by plants, and learning how to leverage them may offer additional tools for disease management.

What guidance would you give plant science students?

If you’re interested in it, pursue it. Follow what genuinely excites you, because that’s what keeps you going when things get challenging.

It’s also important to keep an open mind. There are techniques and skills you may not enjoy at first, but over time, you’ll start to appreciate their importance and the ways they contribute to the bigger picture.

Internships and hands-on experiences can be incredibly helpful, but they aren’t the only path. Not everyone has the same opportunities, and that doesn’t disqualify you from the field. What matters most is being willing to try things, learn from them, and adjust your path as you go.

I’d also encourage students to experience different environments - academia, industry, teaching - before deciding what’s right for you. Seeing things firsthand often teaches you as much about what you don’t want to do as what you do.