Research
Research areas of The Gadhave Lab
Thrips-transmitted tomato spotted wilt virus
This is unquestionably one of the most devastating pest-disease complexes for growers in Texas and globally. TSWV is a pandemic virus with an estimated economic impact over $1 billion annually. Broad spectrum single gene resistance to TSWV was deployed in commercial tomato (‘Sw-5b’ gene) and pepper (‘Tsw’ gene) cultivars worldwide. However, increasingly more virulent resistance breaking (RB) strains of TSWV have been reported across the globe in recent years, which have compounded TSWV risk at an unprecedented scale. To address this dual threat, the primary goal of our inter-disciplinary team: Kevin Crosby, Jeanmarie Verchot, Nolan Anderson, Qingwu Xue is to develop new tools, technology, and approaches for the study and management of thrips and tomato spotted wilt.
Relevant publications:
Chinnaiah, S et al. Frontiers in Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1257724
Chinnaiah, S et al. Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-22-2699-PDN
Gautam, S et al. Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-22-2274-PDN
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Novel RNA therapy against TSWV & Western Flower thrips
Our research program will explore using a novel, small, independent-mobile RNA (iRNA) — the basis of novel RNA therapy — to develop and deliver targeted therapeutics against TSWV and thrips. This highly innovative project will generate proof-of-concept efficacy data in vegetable crops crucial to developing iRNA as a novel, sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally friendly technology in integrated pest management (IPM), while evaluating new TSWV resistant germplasm. Our key collaborator is Silvec Biologics.
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Role of candidate genes in aphid virulence and Transmission
Cereal aphids (CA) and aphid-transmitted barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), the most destructive pandemic pathogen of monocots, cause an estimated annual economic losses of over $1 billion to staple food crops worldwide. Three predominant species in the cereal aphid complex are greenbug (Gb), bird cherry-oat aphid (BCOA) and English grain aphid (EGA). Our lab is collaborating with Subhashree Subramanyam at USDA-APHIS, West Lafayette, IN to understand the role of a few candidate genes in aphid virulence and BYDV transmission in wheat.
Wheat curl mite-transmitted wheat streak mosaic and Triticum mosaic viruses
The wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella, Keifer) is an eriophyid mite species complex of at least 29 different genetic lineages. Of which, Type 1 and Type 2 are economically significant as pests of bread wheat in Australia, Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East, especially because of their ability to transmit a range of phytopathogenic viruses, known as mite vectored virus diseases or MVVDs. Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) are of particular concern to dual purpose wheat production in Texas and the Great Plains. To address this dual threat, the primary goal of our inter-disciplinary team: Shuyu Liu and Jackie Rudd is to study transmission biology of WSMV & TriMV by wheat curl mites and to elucidate the impact of host resistance on pest incidence, disease epidemiology and wheat production.
Relevant publications:
Gautam, S et al. Viruses. https://doi.org/10.3390/v15081774
Raman spectroscopy in Crop Stress Diagnostics
Raman spectroscopy (RS), a modern analytical technique, is capable of probing structure and composition of various materials. Our lab is collaborating with Dmitry Kurouski lab at TAMU, College Station to investigate the accuracy of a hand-held Raman spectrometer in confirmatory diagnostics of biotic and abiotic stresses in different crops.
Relevant publications:
Higgins, S et al. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1035522
Juarez, I et al. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1283399
Whitefly-begomovirus Molecular interactions
Monopartite and bipartite begomoviruses are persistently transmitted by whiteflies, a super vector and a cosmopolitan pest of specialty crops. Our lab aims to understand molecular mechanisms that drive the intricate whitefly-begomovirus interactions— as a critical step towards devising novel pest management strategies.