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Niklaus Grunwald
Associate Professor (Courtesy), Botany and Plant Pathology
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RESEARCH:
The genus Phytophthora contains some of the most destructive plant pathogens affecting agricultural and forest crops. Recently a novel species of Phytophthora was discovered almost simultaneously in Germany on rhododendron and azalea and in California on coast live oak and tanoak. P. ramorum is a devastating exotic pathogen of many forest and nursery crops. It causes several diseases including sudden oak death, Ramorum shoot dieback and Ramorum blight. P. ramorum has a very wide host range and affects many nursery crop species including viburnum, lilac, maple, and oak, among others. It poses a significant threat to the US nursery industry and forests. Currently we know very little about the biology of P. ramorum.
Our laboratory conducts research on the epidemiology, ecology, population biology and molecular genetics of Phytophthora species with a current emphasis on the sudden oak death pathogen P. ramorum. Currently ongoing research projects include:
Gene Expression Profiling in Phytophthora ramorum. The whole genome sequence of the Sudden Oak Death pathogen P. ramorum became available in February of 2004. We are making use of this resource through mining of microsatellite and SNP data, as well as through gene expression profiling using a custom microarray based on 15,743 gene models.
Epidemiology and population genetics of Phytophthora spp. in nursery crops. The epidemiology of Phytophthora ramorum is poorly understood. We are characterizing requirements of leaf wetness hours and temperature for infection, sporulation, latent period, and chlamydospore formation of P. ramorum. In addition, we are investigating the response of viburnum, lilac and maple species to P. ramorum. We are also exploring AFLP and microsatellite marker systems to characterize population structure of Phytophthora spp. in nursery production systems.