Projects
Mechanisms mediating plant virus-vector interactions
Numerous studies have demonstrated that vector-borne pathogens influence host characteristics, resulting in altered host-vector interactions and enhanced transmission. My lab seeks to determine the molecular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon and utilize this knowledge to develop innovative control strategies. Previously I demonstrated that Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) infection of host plants increases insect vector attraction to and reproduction on host plants. Changes in host physiology that mediated host-vector interactions were due to the expression of a single viral protein, NIa-Pro. However, three other viral proteins negatively impacted aphid attraction and biology. We determined that NIa-Pro relocalizes from the nucleus to the vacuole of the plant cell in the presence of the insect vector, inactivating the activity of MEDIATOR proteins through cleaved-in. Importantly, NIa-Pro must relocate to inhibit plant defenses during infection. These results suggest that plant viruses respond actively to the presence of insect vectors, promoting insect performance and transmission only when needed. This project is funded by the NSF through Plant Genome Research Program. The primary focus of the grant is to develop a detailed understanding of the genes and pathways that underlie viral ‘recognition’ of insect vectors and changes in the host plant physiology and plant defense.
Microbe-mediated climate resilience for plants
Crops face numerous biotic and abiotic challenges in the field each growing season, which are predicted to become more frequent and severe with future climate change. My lab aims to understand the mechanisms mediating plant-microbe interactions in response to changing climate, and leverage this knowledge to cultivate and engineer beneficial microbes as plant enhancement tools against future climate change. We are particularly interested in identifying natural resilience-enhancing soil microbiomes and the farming practices that are key to cultivating these beneficial microbes. Recently, we surveyed soil microbiomes from over 85 organic farms across New York state and used machine modeling to identify three farming practices that had conserved impacts on the soil microbiome and microbiome function plant resilience to pest damage and drought across this large geographic area. This project is funded by the USDA-NIFA through the Organic transitions program. A second area of interest related to this theme is understanding how pathogenic microbes transition to having beneficial relationships with plants under stressful conditions, determining the molecular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon, and utilizing this knowledge to develop innovative control and detection strategies. For this project we focus primarily on plant viruses. This project was originally funded by the Department of Defense, and we are in the process of submitting a new proposal to support this work.
Integrating soil and pest management for healthy agro-ecosystems
Lower insect pest populations found on long-term organic farms have largely been attributed to increased biodiversity and abundance of beneficial predators. However, potential induction of plant defenses has largely been ignored. Recently we determined host plant resistance also mediates decreased pest populations in organic systems. We demonstrated that greater numbers of leafhoppers (Circulifer tenellus) settle on tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) grown using conventional management as compared to organic. Soil microbiome sequencing, chemical analysis, and transgenic approaches, coupled with multi-model inference, suggest that changes in leafhopper settling between organically and conventionally-grown tomatoes are dependent on salicylic acid accumulation in the plant, likely mediated by rhizosphere microbial communities. These results suggest that organically-managed soils and microbial communities may play an unappreciated role in reducing plant attractiveness to pests by increasing plant resistance. This project is funding through the USDA-NIFA Federal Capacity Funds Program.