Research
Studying the pathogens that cause commercially relevant disease issues often leads to the discovery of new strains or even species. We discovered and characterized for example:
New field strains of pathogens, such as strains resistant to various chemical classes of fungicides. Such pathogens include Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum acutatum and C. gloeosporioides, Monilinia fructicola and Botrytis cinerea. We discovered strains with point mutations in target genes as well as strains with modified expression levels of target genes and ATP-dependent, membrane-bound transporters.
New species we discovered include:
- Botrytis caroliniana, an important causal agent of gray mold of blackberry
- Botrytis fragariae, an important causal agent of blossom blight and gray mold of strawberry
