Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Rhodococcus fascians are plant pathogenic bacteria that can induce crown and leafy galls on plants, respectively. Infection by these bacteria results in disfigured, unsellable plants, leading to significant economic losses to the nursery industry. A. tumefaciens and R. fascians are capable of infecting a broad range of...
Agrobacterium tumefaciens causes the economically important plant disease, crown gall. These galls are the result of abnormal growth that manifests itself on either the root or the stem and can be devastating for the ornamental plant industry. Introduction of A. tumefaciens to a nursery can be highly detrimental and thus...
As part of an HHMI funded research project, I showed that overexpression (OE) of actin (ACT2) in Arabidopsis thaliana alters the expression of genes involved in plant immunity. Others have previously shown that knockout (KO) mutants of actin depolymerizing factor 4 are affected in the same gene as ACT2-OE. For...
Oomycetes are some of the most devastating pathogens, causing upwards of billions of dollars of damage each year to plants. They also diminish ecological diversity and health through the destruction of trees and shrubs. The genome sequence of Pseudoperonospora cubensis, an obligate plant pathogen and causative agent of downy mildew...
Modern technology has enabled the advancement of biological research through the use of powerful machines and computers as well as innovative computer programs. Advances in sequencing technology and software enable us to make de novo assemblies of organism genomes, and the development of specialized computer programs can automate routine but...
Symbiosis is the close and protracted interaction between organisms. The molecular interactions that occur during symbiosis are complex with multiple barriers that must be overcome. Many Gram-negative, host-associated bacteria use a type III secretion system to mediate associations with their eukaryotic hosts. This secretion system is a specialized apparatus for...