Author: Cole Baerlocher

Understanding genes and regulatory networks in plant stress responses and disease Diseases and abiotic stresses of vegetables, fruits, and commodity crops result in annual yield losses of US $300 million or more. Towards enhancing the stress resilience of crops,  we are pursuing genetic and genomics-based characterization of diverse environmental and biotic stresses in citrus, potato, tomato,…

Seeking solutions against pathogens that cannot be cultured for laboratory study Fastidious (unculturable) plant pathogens devastate several food and commodity crops. For instance, citrus greening or Huanglongbing disease, caused by a fastidious bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, is inflicting approximately $3 billion in annual losses. Similarly, potato zebra chip disease, caused by CandidatusLiberibacter solanacearum, causes annual crop losses of…