Lab News

We’re delighted that our brand new Nikon microscope is here (finally!). We look forward to capturing some cool bug pics with it.

Our lab reported the emergence of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) resistance-breaking (RB) strains in pepper (access full note here: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-22-2274-PDN) and tomato (https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-22-2699-PDN) for the first time in Texas. These strains were capable of disrupting single-gene resistance in all tested TSWV resistant cultivars (eight each) of tomato (Sw-5b gene) and pepper (Tsw gene). They appear to lack all previously reported RB mutations in TSWV proteins and pose a significant threat to tomato and pepper production in Texas. Extensive studies on characterization and transmission of these strains are currently underway.

In collaboration with the Kurouski lab at TAMU, College Station, we published our first-ever lab paper Confirmatory detection and identification of biotic and abiotic stresses in wheat using Raman spectroscopy in Frontiers in Plant Science journal. The paper demonstrates how unique vibrational signatures in the Raman spectra obtained from stressed wheat samples could be used for ~100% accurate identification of biotic (Russian wheat aphid and mite-vectored virus diseases) as well as abiotic (nutrient deficiency and drought) stresses of wheat.

Trustees of the Royal Entomological Society, the UK’s largest and oldest entomological society (Est. 1833) appointed Dr Gadhave as a Fellow in recognition of his substantial contribution to entomological research. Congrats Dr. Gadhave!

Senthil joined our lab as a postdoctoral researcher in August 2022. He obtained his PhD in plant pathology from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in 2017. His prior research was focused on characterization of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and its interactions with thrips in chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora). Welcome Senthil!