a) Plant Biotechnology: Our research is aimed at developing regeneration and genetic transformation technologies for three crop species: carrot, cucumber, and ginseng, with the ultimate goal of introducing foreign genes of agronomic importance. All crop species have been regenerated from various explants in tissue culture, and for carrot and cucumber, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation systems have been developed. We are interested in introducing cloned genes which may enhance the resistance of these crops to infection by fungal pathogens. Ultimately, these transgenic plants will be challenged with pathogens of importance to assess their level of tolerance.

b) Fungal Molecular Biology: Fungal pathogens of plants frequently exhibit intraspecific variation, which may have arisen through strain differentiation in different geographical areas or through mutation. We are currently attempting to elucidate the extent of variation among several pathogens using PCR-based amplification of ribosomal DNA, RAPD-markers, and RFLP banding patterns of genomic DNA. Ultimately, these studies will lead to a better understanding of how these fungal species have evolved, the genetic basis for variation, and possibly the factors which regulate pathogenicity.

c) Plant Pathology: A broad range of approaches can be deployed to minimize the impact of fungal diseases on plants, including the applications of biotechnology and molecular biology described above. We are also interested in developing biological control agents which can compete with or antagonize a plant pathogen. These agents include other fungi, yeasts, and bacteria. The mechanisms of action, growth and survival, and potential utility of these agents for disease control are being studied. In addition, DNA-probes are being developed to aid in monitoring the growth and dispersal of these agents.