Department of Plant Pathologyand Plant-Microbe Biology

2009 Alumni Newsletter Volume 51

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 1

Table of ContentsPage 1 Thanks

2 LetterfromtheChair

3 FacultyNews

6 UndergraduateCoursesin PlantPathologyandPlant-Microbe BiologyatCornell

8 GraduateStudents

9 DepartmentDoings

13 Facilities

16 NortheastPlantDiagnosticNetwork

17 PlantDiseaseDiagnosticClinic

17 OakWiltinNewYorkState

20 Congratulations

21 IntheNews

25 AlumniNews

25 Necrology

26 NewsforFutureNewsletters

Thelayoutworkforthisyear’sissueoftheAlumni Newsletter was done by Dawn

Dailey O’Brien. Thanks to Dawn also forpursuing and organizing contributions fromalumni, faculty and staff and for compilinginformationregardingpastandpresentgraduatestudents.

Thanks to George Hudler, JackieArmstrong,CarolFisherandBobO’Brienforproofreading.A big thank you to Kent Loeffler for thebeautiful front cover and many of the otherphotographs.

Send feedback and suggestions for futurenewsletterstoplantpathcornell@cornell.edu

TheAlumniNewsletter ispublishedannuallybythe

DepartmentofPlantPathologyandPlant-MicrobeBiology

CollegeofAgricultureandLifeSciencesCornellUniversity,334PlantScience

Ithaca,NY14853

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 2

Greetings Fall 2009

from the Chair

George HudlerChair, Department of Plant Pathology and

Plant-Microbe Biology

Cornell University

Department of plant pathology anD

plant-miCrobe biology

Greetings to all from the warm confines of the rock solid, Ivy-coveredhomewecallthePlantScienceBuilding!It’s

anotherbeautifulautumnday,thedeeraredevouringtheacornsdroppedfromtheoaksalongTowerRoad,andthewhistlesofimpatientcoachesechofromthewallsthatsurroundnowtwosides of the athletic practice fields. The faculty and staff of our department(withtheoccasionalgentlenudgefromoursenioreditor,DawnDaileyO’Brien)havepreparedanarrayofbriefnotestotellyouwhatwe’vebeenupto,andwithcompletionofthisletter,we’rereadytogotopress.(Atleast,that’swhatmy‘gentlenudge’said!)

Asyouwillseefromthecontentsofthisyear’seditionofourNewsletter,we’vebeenabusygroup...inspiteofthedismaleconomicnewsthatissopervasiveinothermediaoutlets.TheUniversity-thus,thedepartment-maybefeelingmorepainthansomeofourcolleaguesbecausesomuchofwhatgoesonatCornellisfundedwithgiftsandendowmentincome,bothofwhichobviouslytankedwiththestockmarketcrash.Aswe’retoldthatwehaveturnedthecorneronthecurrentrecession,we’re also reminded that the New York State budget deficit getslargerbythedayandthereisnovisiblelightattheendof that fiscal tunnel…yet.

The University has responded to its financial problems withaHerculeaneffortto‘reimagine’itself.Faculty,staffandadministrators have invested hundreds (maybe, thousands)of hours to reconsider the way we do literally everything.The hope is that superfluous administrative functions can beconsolidated,redundanciesinteachingandstaffsupportcan be eliminated, and other cost-saving measures can beidentified without loss of academic excellence.Thetaskisaformidableoneandthereisalotofnail-bitinggoingonasweawait some definitive word with regard to task force reports and recommendations from the Provost’s office. All of that shouldhappensometimeinJanuary.

Closer to home, one course of action that is receivingconsiderable attention is a pending merger with our sisterdepartment in Geneva. Under any circumstances, but mostcertainlyintimesofeconomicdistress,maintenanceoftwodepartmentswiththesamenameisindefensible.We’vebeenasked to fix that and have begun the delicate negotiations thatwill eventuallyallowus to functionseamlesslyasoneharmoniousteam,albeitwithsomescenicmileagebetweenthe two campuses.The merger won’t result in immediatesavings, but the expectation is that we’ll develop a new, unified strategic plan to cope with the significant number of retirements expected at both campuses in the next 5 years. That ‘coping’ willmostsurelyincludesomefacultydownsizing;we’rejustnotsurehowmuchandforwhichprogramareas.

Inviewof themany changeson thehorizon, our spiritremains high and we’re looking forward to another year.We’vebeenwinningourshareofgrantcompetitionsandcareerawards,andthegraduatestudentsandpost-docsarekeepingussociallyengagedwithfrequentdepartmentoutingsandin-housecelebrations.Asyouturnthepagesthatfollow,Ihopeyou’llagreewithmethatCornellPlantPathologyandPlant-MicrobeBiology(PPPMB)remainsattheheadofitsclass.Andifthisisn’tenough,thengotopppmb.cals.cornell.edutocheckoutourwebpage.Featurestoriesarechangedatleastmonthlyandsometimesmoreoftenaswetrytokeepupwithourverybusyandproductivefacultyandstudents.

Withsincerebestwishes,

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page �

NewsFaculty

Gary Bergstrom

ActivitiesoftheBergstromlabwerecoveredindetailinthe2008Newsletterandmostofthesearecontinuing.

Katie Waxman coordinates the many lab and field activities of the field crops research group, and Stan Kawamoto continues part-time.Graduate students JuliaCrane,ChristineLayton,MichaelWunschandBrianKing(jointwithDonnaGibson)eachmadegreatprogressontheirstudiesin2009.ResearchassociateMarshallHayesjoinedthelabinOctober2009towork on fungal enzymes for conversion of lignocellulosicbiomass for biofuel production (joint with Donna GibsonandLarryWalker labs).Theresearchgroupwassuccessfulinreceivingnewgrants fromtheNewYorkFarmViabilityInstitute (management of switchgrass smut), the NorthernNewYorkAgriculturalDevelopmentProgram(managementofbrownrootrotofalfalfa),andtheNortheastIPMCenter(alfalfa resistance to brown root rot). Highlights of Gary’sextension program included a one-day intensive seminar on Wheat Management, numerous field day and winter meeting presentations, and work with the NewYork Corn GrowersAssociationtoorganizeaNewYorkCropsTour.

Gary traveledto Scandinavia inJanuary 2009. Hepresentedaseminarat the NorwegianI n s t i t u t e f o rAgricultural andE n v i r o n m e n t a lResearch(Bioforsk)andtheNorwegianU n i v e r s i t y o fLife Sciences inÅs, and met withplant pathologycolleaguestheretodiscusssmallgrainspathologyresearch.He was hosted byDr. Guro BrodalandProfessorAnneMarte Tronsmo.Bergs t rom alsovisitedtheSwedishAgriculturalUniversity(SLU)inUppsalawhere he was hosted by Professor JonathanYuen (CornellPh.D. ’82) and Dr.Annika Djurle. [Djurle andYuen latervisitedCornellinJune2009].Bergstrompresentedaresearch

seminaranddiscussedresearchandoutreachwithcolleaguesat SLU and the Swedish Board ofAgriculture. Bergstromservedas the invited‘opponent’at thedoctoral thesis (‘On Phaeosphaeria nodorum on Wheat’) defense of Eva Blixt, astudentofYuen,Djurle,andDr.ÅkeOlsonatSLU.AlsoservingonthedefensecommitteewereDr.HansPinnschmidtofDenmark,ProfessorAnneMarteTronsmoofNorway,andDr. Jiasui Zhan of Scotland. Dr. Blixt successfully defended herthesisandcelebratedwithaformalSwedishpartyinthe‘gärnahögtidsdräkt’traditionofwhitetiesforgentlemenandtraditionalfolkdressesforladies.Thepartywasheldinthegarden house of Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy.

Alan Collmer

TheworkinAlanCollmer’slabhascontinuedtofocusonthefunctionalgenomicsofPseudomonas syringae,with

anemphasisonthetypeIIIsecretionsystem.Inanutshell,wehave identified just about all of the genes in the model strain P. syringae pv. tomatoDC3000thatencodeproteinsthattravelthetypeIIIpathway,andwearenowsystematicallydisassemblingthe system, looking for weaknesses to exploit for disease control.AnothermajoractivityinvolvesthedevelopmentanduseingenomeannotationofGeneOntologytermsthatprovideauniversallanguageforprocessesinpathogenesis.ThisefforthasbeenledbycollaboratorsCandaceCollmer(WellsCollege)andMagdalenLindeberg(Cornell)andculminatedinseveralreviewarticles in special issuesofBMC Microbiology andTrends in Microbiology.Themajormeetingtripfor the labthis year was the IX International Congress on MolecularPlant-MicrobeInteractionsinQuebecCityinJuly.

However,thereallybigeventsthisyearweregraduationsanddepartures.BrianKvitko,agraduatestudentintheFieldof Microbiology, completed his Ph.D. thesis “Constructionof Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 polymutantstrains touncover functionalgroups invirulence”and thenleftinJanuarytodopostdoctoralworkonhumanpathogensatColoradoStateUniversity.JoanneMorellocompletedherPh.D. thesis on “Identification of extracellular components andearlyregulationstepsinthetypeIIIsecretionsystemofPseudomonas syringae” in 2008 and then did postdoctoralworkon theP. syringae project until leavingat the endofsummer 2009 for a covetedAAAS Science &TechnologyPolicyFellowshipinWashington,DC.Finally,AlistairRussell,an extremely talented undergraduate Microbiology major, who hadbeenanimportantmemberofthelabfor3years,leftforgraduatestudiesinpathogenicmicrobiologyattheUniversityofWashington,Seattle.

‘Opponent’ Gary Bergstrom congratulating ‘Doctoral Candidate’ Eva Blixt on successful defense of her thesis at the Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala in January 2009.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page �

Bill Fry

Wewereluckytohosttwoalumnaeduringthispastyear.TheresaYun Lee was back on sabbatic from Korea.

TheresaiscurrentlyworkingonPlasmodiophora brassicae withalongtermgoalofdevelopingmicrosatellitemarkerstoassessgeneticdiversityofthisorganism.However,inadditiontoworkingonP. brassicae,Theresawasalsoinvolvedinapopulation study of Phytophthora capsici. Fortunately, inthisstudywehadalargecollectionandseveralmicrosatellitemarkers(developedinSouthAfrica,seebelow).WewereacomponentofastudyinvolvingAmaraCamp,ChrisSmartandHeleneDillard.TheresareturnedtoKoreainthelatewinter.Itwasgreattoseeheronceagaininthedepartment.

DuringthesummerAdeleMcLeodtookamini-sabbaticalfromtheUniversityofStellenbosch,inSouthAfrica.ItwasinAdele’s lab where Julia Meitz, a post doc withAdele,developed themarkers.Adelewasworkingonmanuscriptsbutalsoaidedourstudyofthe2009lateblightepidemicinnortheasternUSA.(ThanksAdele.)

Late blight became a household word with gardenersin much of the northeast this summer. The first warning

wassignaledon23JunebyMegMcGrathonLongIsland.However,Keith Perry got everyone excited whenheboughtatomatotransplant

at one of the major “box” stores in Ithaca on 24 June. This plant (andmany,manyothers)wasplasteredwithlateblightlesions.Tom Zitter found infected transplants in all the major box storesinIthaca,butnotinthosestoresusinglocallyproducedtransplants.MegsubsequentlyfoundinfectedtransplantsonLongIsland.Thus,theseinfectedtransplantswerenotlimitedtoIthaca,butweredistributedataboutthesametimeinmanystatesintheNortheast.Somestoremanagersweretoldthattheyshouldgetridoftheinfectedplants;unfortunatelythiscausedsometoputthem“onsale”.Thus,therewasinoculumverywidelydistributedinmid-lateJuneinmany,manylocations.TheweatherintheNortheastwasveryfavorabletolateblightin the summer 2009, so there was a significant epidemic – affecting home gardeners and organic producers first, but also causingaproblemsubsequentlyforconventionalpotatoandtomatogrowers.Adele,KevinMyers,andPaolaZuluagawereinstrumentalincharacterizingtheseisolatesusingaseriesofmarkers. Their work confirmed the expected: the major strain of Phytophthora infestans ontomatoesandinhomegardensthissummerwasanewstrainthatpreviouslyhadnotbeen“named”.Thestrainfoundinhomegardensandorganicoperationswasidentical to the strain detected in the box stores.

ThelabcontinuesstudiesonspeciesofPhytophthorawithemphasison P. infestans.LabpersonnelnowconsistofKevinMyers,PaolaZuluaga,andAsiaZambrano,avisitingscientistfromVenezuela.AsiaisworkingwithPaolaonresistanceinplants to P. infestans.We were fortunate to host a studentfrom Colombia, Giovanna DaniesTurano, who wanted tocharacterize the interaction between P. infestans and CapeGooseberry.WeweresorrytoloseGuohongCaiwhomovedto Rutgers in January where he continues some work onPhytophthora viruses.

Hudler Lab

Studentsandstaffcontinue to focusconsiderableenergyonPhytophthoradiseasesofEuropeanbeech.Treatment

ofdiseasedtreeswithaphosphitefungicideappliedasabarkdrench seems to stop continued expansion of above-ground cankers,butknowledgeoftheamountofactivityinrootsystemsandintissuesotherthanbarkinthestemremainselusive.ShawnKenaley,arecent transplantfromWestVirginiaUniversity,directs the day-to-day operations and is particularly excited by arecentcollaborationwiththelandscapemanagementstaffatthe high profile Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. This 500 acresiteishometonearly200matureEuropeanbeech,manyhealthybutsomewiththedisease.Tohavesomanytreesinoneplaceandunderthecareofoneperson/organizationisarareopportunity todosomeepidemiologicalwork thathaspreviouslyeludedtheresearchteam.

KenaleyandHudlerarealsoteamingupwithDr.LarrySmart(formerlyatSUNY-ESF,nowat the NYAES in Geneva) to learnmoreaboutdiseasesaffectingwillowsgrownasbiofuel.Leafrustsseemtopose the greatest threat to yields insurveys so far, but this rapidly expanding field promises to holdmanysurprisesintheyearsahead.

Elsewhereinthisnewsletter,youwillreadaboutyetanothernewdevelopmentonthetreehealthfront;onethatwewereburstingattheseamstotellyouaboutlastyearatthistimebutcouldn’tforfearofbreachingthechainofcommunicationamong state and federal officials. That is/was discovery of oak wiltinaneighborhoodinScotia,NYnearAlbany.Concernedhomeowners first raised the alarm, Cooperative Extension EducatorChrisLoguesuspectedsomethingmorethatausual“decline”, and Sandra Jensen expertly cultured the pathogen. HudlerandKenaleyfollowedupwithadditionallabandlibraryresearch, and the find – the first in NY – was confirmed.

Finally,congratulationstoAngelaNelsonwhocompletedtherequirementsforthePh.D.inJune,andsoonthereaftergavebirthtoanew(hersecond)daughter.AngelawillbestayingintheIthacaareawithherfamilyand,atleastfortheshortrun,willbeteachinganonlinecollege-levelcourseinecology.

Dick Korf

DickKorfreportsfromhisamplelabspaceinthenewPlantPathologyHerbariumbuildingoffGameFarmRoadthat

despiterotatorcuffarthroscopicsurgerytohisrightshoulder,debilitatinghimfor6weeksinasling(whilehelearnedhowto type emails left-handed) and another six months of physical therapy,thishasbeenamoreactiveresearchperiodforhimthansincetheearly2000s.Alate2008paperofhis,mostlyonanomenclaturalproblem,appearedinanArgentinianjournalaspartofan80thyearFestschriftfortheirfamousdiscomycetespecialist, Irma Gamundí deAmos.A memorial statementforGeorgeKent,co-authoredwithWayneSinclairandJimLorbeer,toappearintheannualuniversitysummaryoffacultydeaths turned out to be an exciting trip down memory lane for allofus,reworkingeachothersideastillwenowdon’tknowwhowrotewhat.

Late blight became a household word

this rapidly expanding field promises to hold many surprises

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 5

The first publication in 2009 was the issuance of two more fascicles(eachof25specimens)ofDiscomycetes Exsiccatae,half again as many as in the first 4 fascicles issued way back in 1955-1981. (Korf knew that he had many hundreds ofdiscomycetespecimensjust“waiting”tobeworkedon,anda logical choice for research in retirement,wherehecouldpick up one at a time; if satisfied with what he knew earlier andwhathasbeenpublishedsince,hecoulddoitup,puttingasidethosewithstilltoomuchtolearntofeeltheywerereadyfordistributionworldwideto13othermycologicalherbaria).ApaperwiththecollectingdataforeachspecimenwaspublishedintheJan-MarvolumeofMycotaxon,co-authoredwithourcurator,BobDirig,whotogetherwiththehelpofaHerbariumvolunteer,DougMurray,accomplishedtheHerculeanphysicaltaskofassembling,packeting,printing,labelling,mounting,and mailing of both fascicles. In that same volume KorfcontributedabookreviewofIndian Sarcoscyphaceous FungibyV.P.Tewari,nowanemeritusprofessorofBenaresHinduUniversity,whodidhismaster’s thesisunderKorf.Shortlythereafter an 8-page article by Hawaii-located mycologist,Prof. GeorgeWong and Korf - something like 4 years inpreparation-appearedinPacific Science, the journal of first choice by many Pacific rim researchers on all scientific subjects. Arecentpaperentitled“CanwereallyaffordanInternationalCodeofNomenclature?”hasbeenacceptedforpublication.

The final transfer of Korf’s personal herbarium, housed till recently in the office-lab of his successor, Kathie Hodge, to the newbuildinghasfacilitatedhisfurtherworkonDiscomycetes,whichiswhathemostenjoysabouthisleisurelyretirement.VisitorsarealwayswelcometotheHerbarium.CallKorfonhiscellphonetomakeanappointmentifyouwanttoseehimthere,607-280-5645.ItbacksupontoMcGowan’sWoods,afamous small forest used extensively by mycologists and plant pathologistssincethedaysofAtkinson,Whetzel,Fitzpatrickand their studentsbecauseof itseasyaccess fromcampus.Manyspeciesnewtoscienceweredescribedfromthatonepatch of still extant woods.

Magdalen Lindeberg

Magdalen Lindeberg received funding inApril 2009fromtheFloridaDepartmentofCitrusfortheproposal

‘BioinformaticcharacterizationanddevelopmentofacentralgenomeresourceswebsiteforCandidatusLiberibacterasiaticus,thecausalagentofcitrusgreening(Huanglongbing)disease’.Magdalen and Dr. Surya Saha, a post-doctoral associatesupportedbythisgrant,havebegunworkoncharacterizationofregulatoryelements,repeatedmotifs,andotheraspectsofgenomearchitecture.Thisprojectputs touseanalytical approachesdevelopedincollaborationwiththeresearch groups ofAlan CollmerandDaveSchneider(USDA-ARS)forP. syringaegenomeanalysis,highlightingtheimportanceof model systems such as P. syringae for development ofbroadlyrelevantanalyticalstrategies.MoreinformationcanbefoundattheCitrusGreening-HLBGenomeResourceswebsite(http://www.citrusgreening.org/)

Rose Loria

TheLorialabhashadaverybusyyear.Ourmostrecentand exciting news is a new Agriculture and Food Research

Initiative grant for functionalgenomicsofthepotatopathogen,Streptomyces scabies.Wecannowfullyutilizeourgenomesequenceto dissect the response of thisimportant bacterium to the potato host during infection! Expect lotsofgreatdataonthisnew“modelsystem”.

ThelabnowconsistsofMadhumitaJoshi,DawnBignellandJoseHuguet-Tapia,allpostdoctoralscientistsorresearchassociates.Madhumitahasmadegreatprogressondissectingthedefenseresponseofplantsto S. scabies; the “first chapter” of this story is being preparing for publication now.AmanuscriptonS. scabies’abilitytoproduceacoronatine-likecompoundhasbeenacceptedforpublicationinMPMI,withDawnastheseniorauthor.JoseisanewlymintedPh.D.frommyprogramwhowillstayontohelpuswithourbioinformaticneeds.Histhesisworkwillbeincorporatedintoseveralpapers,oneofwhichdescribestheS. scabiesgenome.RyanSeipkeleft the lab for a postdoctoral position at theUniversity ofEastAnglica,afterashortstintasapostdoctoralscientistinthelab.RyannowworkswithMattHutchingsinvestigatinglipoproteins and secondary metabolites in actinobacteria,includingS. scabies.Ryan’spaperonhopanoidsinS. scabieshasjustbeenpublishedintheJournal of Bacteriology.JoannaFyanns,aPh.D.candidateattheUniversityofDundee,spentaproductivetwomonthsinthelablearninghowtoinoculateplantswithS. scabies,andfollowinfectionmicroscopically.WecollaboratewithJoanna’sadvisor,TracyPalmer,ontheroleof secretedproteins inhost-pathogen interactions.Ourlabisworkingtirelesslytoconvertmolecularmicrobiologistsworkingonotherstreptomycetesintoplantpathologists!

DawnBignellandRoseLoriaspenttwoweeksinChina,a first for both of them! In Chengdu they were hosted by AipingZheng,fromtheRiceResearchInstituteofSichuanAgriculturalUniversity.VisitstotheHualongandJiuzhaigouWorld Heritage Sites and the Panda Research Center inChengdu were highlights of an event filled week. Shanghai wasthesiteofthe15thInternationalSocietyofActinomyceteBiologymeeting,attendedbya1,000scientistfromaroundtheworld.BothDawnandRosemadepresentationsat thismeeting, and had the opportunity to experience the modern andbustlingcityofShanghai.

Stay tuned for an expanded lab group and new tales of genome-based adventures in the next edition!

Rebecca Nelson

Rebecca Nelson’s group works on disease resistance inmaize. There are currently six graduate students in the lab

–fourfromPPPMBandtwofromPlantBreedingandGenetics(Rebeccahasajointappointmentinthetwodepartments).Thegroup’sworkisfocusedonunderstandingthegeneticbasisofquantitativediseaseresistancetodiversefungalpathogensthatattackmaize.Thelab’sinterestspansbasicandappliedaspectsofdiseaseresistance.Onthemorebasicside,thegrouphas

This project puts to use analytical approaches

We can now fully utilize our genome sequence

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page �

mapped numerous genetic loci to very fine resolution, used a rangeofmethodstoaskhowthegenesaffectpathogenesis,andiswellontheirwaytocloningsomeofthegenes.Onthemoreappliedside,thereisastronginterestindiseasemanagementandimprovedresistancethroughmarker-assistedbreeding.

FromFebruarythroughJune,RebeccaandherfamilywereonsabbaticalleaveinKenya.WhileinNairobi,Rebeccawas

generouslyhostedattheBioScienceseast and centralAfrica Hub at theInternational Livestock ResearchInstitute’s Nairobi campus (theILRI-BecAHub--theHub’sdirector,

Dr.SegenetKelemu,haddoneapost-docinCornell’sPlantPathologydepartmentinyearspast).AttheILRI-BecAHub,Rebeccapursuedinterestsasascientistbyhelpingtoestablisha research effort on aflatoxin. She is part of a collaborative teamthatinvolvestheILRI-BecAHub,MichaelMilgroomofPPPMB,graduatestudentSamuelMutiga,andotherfacultyatCornellandtheUniversityofMaryland,aswellasscientistsintheeastAfricanregion.

AtCornellandattheIRLI-BecAHub,Rebeccaalsocarriedon her duties as Scientific Director and regional Liaison ScientistfortheMcKnightFoundation’sCollaborativeCropResearchProgram(CCRP).WitharecentgrantfromtheBill& Melinda Gates Foundation, the CCRP has been expanded andseveralnewcallsforproposalshavebeenintheworks.

Tom Zitter

Tom Zitter continues conducting field programs for disease controlforcucurbits,tomatoesandpotatoes.Hehasbeen

workingwithMarthaMutschlerinPlantBreedingtodeveloptomatoesadaptedtotheNEwithresistancetolateblight,earlyblight and Septoria leaf spot. Members of the departmentwere again treated to transplants of the variety ‘MountainMagic’,whichiscurrentlytheonlyCherryvarietywithgeneticresistanceforlateblight.Sowhileall other tomatoes inTompkinsCounty were lost to late blight,the‘MountainMagic’varietyandthose with the same resistancein developing lines grown atFreeville thrived, even in ourcoolanddampseason.The‘MtMagic’hybridwasdevelopedbyformerPh.D.CornellianDr.RandyGardnerduringhiscareeratNCSUlocatedinFletcher,NC.Lateblightwasintroducedintomuch of the NE on disease transplants sold at big box stores, makinglateblightandthepotentialforresistantvarietiesahottopicthissummer.

Rebecca and her family were on sabbatical leave in Kenya

‘Mountain Magic’, is currently the only Cherry variety with genetic resistance for late blight

Undergraduate Courses in Plant Pathology & Plant Microbe Biology at Cornell

Recently,PPPMBfacultyhaverespondedtothepleasforundergraduate courses in our field. These innovative new

coursescreativelymeettheneedsofundergraduates.Eachhastheirowntwistbuttogetherrepresentthefaculty’sdedicationtointroduceundergraduatestotheirworldsofstudy.Herearesomeofournewcourseofferings.

Mushroom, Molds and Molecules (PLPA 2015) taught by Gillian TurgeonLectures and exams for this course are the same as those in PLPA2010,MagicalMushrooms,Mischievous Molds. However,students in PLPA 2015 alsoparticipateinaweekly50minutediscussion section that providesmore in-depth exposure, to some oftheissuesraisedin2010lecture.Experts emphasize that fungi producemyriadsofmoleculesthatare beneficial to other organisms (e.g.,antibiotics,immunosuppressants,biocontrolagents)ortothemselves(e.g.,fordevelopment,reproduction,nutrientgathering,stressreduction),ordetrimentaltootherorganisms(e.g., toxins, poisons, allergens, hallucinogens).

Medical and Veterinary Mycology (PLPA 3290/VETMI 3290) taught by Kathie Hodge MedicalandVeterinaryMycologyfocusesonfungithatcausediseasesofpeopleandanimals.Somearefairlybenign,likeathlete’sfootandtineaversicolor.Othersareaggressiveand deadly, like aspergillosis andcoccidioidomycosis.Wetookasurveyapproach, covering major diseases,the epidemiology and biology ofthe pathogens, clinical presentationand approaches, and, for a subsetof pathogens, immunology andgenetics.Wealsocoveredantifungaldrugs, mycotoxins, allergens, and other topics. The course was taughtin lecture-only format this first year, but will soon expand to a 3 credit course including a demo lab/discussionsection.IntroBioistheonlyprerequisite,andalmostallstudentswereundergraduates.

Mushrooms, Molds & Molecules class poster

Poster session at Mann library for Medical and Veterinary Mycology class

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page �

First-Year Writing Seminar-Evolution:Evaluating the Public Debate (PLPA 1200) taught by Rose LoriaAsafreshmanwritingseminar,thecoursegoalisforstudentsto develop writing skills that will enable them to writeengaging, informative and persuasive documents, throughskill development andpracticeof thewritingprocess.Writersneed something to write aboutand this course focuses on animportantandrelevantissue-thepublicdebateoverlegitimacyofevolution as a central scientific theory. Though we live in aworldinfusedwithscienceandtechnology,mostofthegeneralpublic and a significant number of Cornell students are not surethatevolutionistrue.Evolution,thetheorythatorganismsare connected by genealogy and change over time, is wellsupported and accepted as true by the scientific community. Nevertheless, there is an emotional debate outside scientific circles about the legitimacy of evolution as an explanation for the diversity of life on earth, and the existence of humans inparticular.

Microbes and Food: Contemporary Issues Affecting Humanity, (PLPA 4090) taught by Steven BeerThis course was conceived and designed SPECIFICALLYas a Senior Seminar for Biology and Society students and

otherswantingtoround-outtheirknowledge and appreciation ofcontemporary issues relative tofood and microbes. It assumes abasicknowledgeofmicrobiology,comparable to that offered inMicrobiology 2900. Studentsparticipating in this seminar willdevelopadetailedunderstandingofseveralissuesthatareofimmediate

relevancetomodernsociety.Topicscoveredincludedtheroleofmicrobesinfoodproduction,geneticallyengineeredorganisms,solidandliquidwastetreatment,food-bornepathogens,foodproduction techniques for the expected 10 billion world populationin2050,foodprocessingandpreservationbasedonmicrobialaction.

Despitethetrepidationoftryingsomethingdifferentthefacultymembersallenjoyedthechallengeofteachingthe

newcoursesandgettingoutoftheirowncomfortzones.KathieHodge said it was exciting to learn a new side of mycology andRoseLorianotedthatdoingsomethingnewhelpsherstayfresh and excited about her work.

IngeneralitwasrewardingforthefacultytoteachPPPMBcourses to undergraduates. Gillian Turgeon enjoyed finding ways to distill scientific research on fungi such that it was appealing to non-science and science majors. For the Evolution:EvaluatingthePublicDebateclass,Rosenoted“WorkingwithCornell freshman is exciting because of their intelligence, energy,andabilitytothinkindependently.Thetopicofevolution

Microbes and Food field trip to the Cornell Dairy Plant

has scientific, historical, and con tempora rysignificance, allowing for wide ranging andstimulating scholarlydiscussions.”

The faculty all hadpositiveandsometimesglowingfeedbackfromthestudentsandfounditgratifyingto teach sometimes difficult concepts. Most of the students were clearly excited about the topics and were enthusiastic tolearn.However,GillianTurgeonechoesthesentimentofmanyteachersoncampuswhenshenotedhowsomestudentssat in the back texting on their cell phones and surfing on their computers.

The experiences of the faculty teaching undergraduates werenotallthesamehoweverandthereweresomesurprises.RoseLoriawasimpressedwiththesophisticationandbreadthof experiences that some of the freshman have while Steve Beerwassurprisedhowlittlepriorknowledgemostlyseniorstudents inhis classhad about the topics covered in class.Another unexpected outcome was in Hodge’s class she noted thatof54students,only6weremale!

Thesecoursesinvolvedmorethanjusttraditionalcoursework of lectures and exams. As part of the Medical Mycology course the studentsworked in smallgroupsoneducationalpostersabouttopicsinmed/vetmycology.Thentheyhadabig poster extravaganza in the Deans’ Room at Mann Library. Kathiesaid“ThequalityoftheworkwassohighandIfeltsoproudofthemall!”DuringtheMicrobesandFoodclasstherewere several 75-minute field trips to observe “Microbes in Action”,includingtheCornelldairyplant,theLudwigantibodyproduction facility, Ithaca sewage treatment plant and theIthacabeerbrewery.RoseLoriastepsoutoftheconventionalclassroomsettingbyteachingherfreshmanwritingseminaratoneoftheNorthcampusdorms.

ThecourseswillcontinuetogrowandimproveintheyearstocomeandEricNelsonandTeresaPawlowskahaveevenmorenewofferingsinthepipeline.Staytuned!

“Working with Cornell freshman is exciting because of their intelligence, energy, and ability to think independently.”

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page �

Fall 2009

Graduate StudentsWelcome to Our New Graduate Students Meeting of Nobel Laureates at Lindau

Brian King, PhD candidate, 2011

FromJune25–July4,2009,IhadtheprivilegeofbeingoneofthreeCornellgraduatestudentsand77U.S.studentsto

participateinthe59thMeetingofNobelLaureatesatLindauonLakeConstanceinGermany.WhataretheLindauNobelLaureateMeetings?Since1951,theyarebasedin“theconceptof bringing together Nobel Laureates and students/youngscientists in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.” The U.S. delegationwassponsoredbytheU.S.DepartmentofEnergy,the National Science Foundation, the National Institutesof Health, Oak RidgeAssociated Universities, and MarsIncorporated.

In2009,themeetingwasdedicatedtochemistry,withasubtheme of global climate change and alternative energysolutions.Foroneweek,23NobelLaureatesinteractedwith600 young researchers from around the world.Among thelaureates at the meeting were Osamu Shimomura, MartinChalfie, and RogerY. Tsien who shared the 2008 prizein chemistry “for the discovery and development of thegreen fluorescent protein, GFP.” Also at the meeting was RichardErnst,whowonthe1991prizeinchemistry“forhiscontributionstothedevelopmentofthemethodologyofhighresolutionnuclearmagneticresonance(NMR)spectroscopy.”Sir Harold Kroto was at the meeting. He shared the 1996prize “for their discovery of fullerenes,” better known asbuckeyballs.Andthethreemenwhosharedthe1995prize“fortheirworkinatmosphericchemistry,particularlyconcerningthe formationanddecompositionofozone [and the roleofCFCs],”PaulJ.Crutzen,MarioJ.Molina,andF.SherwoodRowland,werethere.Theyhavenowfocusedmuchoftheirattentionongreenhousegassesandglobalclimatechange.

Ona lighternote, IhaddinnerwithWernerArber,whoshared the 1978 prize in physiology or medicine “for thediscovery of restriction enzymes and their application toproblems of molecular genetics.” From personal accountsofRichardErnstplayingwithhisuncle’schemistrysetasachildintheattic,totheseriousclaimsofPaulCrutzenthatwearelivinginanewgeologicera,theAnthropocene,namedfor the influence of human activity on global climate, the meetingcertainlyachieveditsgoalto“educate,inspire,andconnect.”AndthetownofLindauandtheislandofMainauwerelovelyaswell!

I would like to particularly thank my advisor, DonnaGibson, and my committee member, Larry Walker, fornominatingme toattend thismeeting. Iwouldalso like tothankourDirectorofGraduateStudies,MichaelMilgroom,whoencouragedDonnatonominateme.Formoreinformationabout the meeting including videos of lectures, check outhttp://lindau-nobel.de/.

Crocker, EllenB.A.WilliamsCollege,Williamston,MA2006,major:Biology and HistoryResearch Experience: ForestpathologyandEcologyInterests: Plant-pathogenrolesinnaturalecosystems,microbialmediationofinvasiveorganisms.Chairperson:EricNelson

Kathryn Fiedler B.S.DickinsonCollege,Carlisle,PA2007,major: BiologyM.S.UniversityofMassachusettsAmherst,Amherst,MA2009, major: Plant & Soil ScienceResearch Experience:Forestsuccession,wetlandbiodiversity,ResveratrolregulationinVitis vinifera,controloptionsforgrapepowderymildewInterests:BotrytisandpowderymildewofV. vinifera,infectionprocesses,alternativediseasecontrolChairperson:RobertSeem

Lisa JonesB.S. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 2001, major: Plant BiologyResearch Experience: Identifying plant pathogens new to Florida and new hosts of existing plant pathogens for the FloridaDepartmentofAgricultureandConsumerServicesincludingCandidatusLiberibacter asiaticus, Phytophthora ramorum,andphytoplasmadiseasesofpalmtrees.Interests:DiagnosisandDetectionstrategiesandtechnologyChairperson:ChristineSmart

Alexa SchmitzB.A. Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 2006, major: biochemistry.B.M.OberlinConservatory2006,majorviolinperformanceResearch Experience:DNAaptamerselection;Ecologyofarbuscularmycorrhiza;TypeIIIsecretionbyShigella flexneri.Interests:Linkingthemolecularsignalingofplant-microbesymbiosistoitsecologyandevolution.Chairperson:Tobedetermined

Tien TranB.S.NongLamUniversity,HoChiMinhCity,Vietnam2005, major: BiotechnologyResearch experience:EntomopathogenicfungiBeauveria bassiana andITS-rDNAsequenceInterests:Plant-pathogeninteraction;nematodesChairperson:XiaohongWang

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 9

Department Doings 2008 Fall Staff Retweet to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and HerbariumKelly A.W. Bulkeley

On October 9, 2008, PPPMB staff members weretreated to an exciting fall retreat that included visits to

two CALS research facilities.Theadventurebeganat theCornellLabofOrnithology,whichisnotjustforthebirdsbytheway,aswelearnedon our guided tour with extension specialistCharlesEldermire.TheLabofOrnithologyfocusesonstudyingNorth American birds, but alsosupports programs involving othervertebrates,whalesandelephantsinbioacoustic, conservation science,evolutionaryandpopulationstudies.During the tour, staff memberswere able to see laboratories andvariousbehind-the-scenesfacilities,includingspecimenstorageareasfeaturingrareandbrightly-coloredbirdsdatingbacktothe1800s.

Afterlunch,thePPPMBstaffmadetheirwaytothenewlyrenovated Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium. Located onGameFarmRoad,theherbariumfeaturesalargecollectionof

preservedfungiandotherpathogens. We learnedfromCuratorandintrepidtour guide Robert Dirigthat roughly 400,000different specimens arehoused there, and thatall of those specimenscomprise the 4th largestmycologicalcollectionin

NorthAmerica.Thestaffenjoyedviewingthesespecimens,bothdried in envelopes andpreserved in jars, aswell as alargecollectionofphotographsoffungiandplantdiseases.

A 22-foot-long skeleton of a reticulated python in the Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates housed at the Lab of Ornithology.

Bob Dirig giving tour the of Herbarium

Guided tour of the Lab of Ornithology

PPPMB Touchdown Tailgate Party Scores A VictoryMarshall Hayes

OnNovember1,2008nearlythirtyPPPMBfaculty,staff,studentsand friendsgatheredat theSchoellkopfField

Crescent and made the Department’s 1stAnnual FootballTailgatePartyaresoundingsuccess.Thankstoeveryonewhocameoutandparticipated!

The“TouchdownTailgate”wasthebrainchildofGeorgeHudler,PPPMBChair,andwasscheduledtocorrespondwiththeannualCUEmployeeCelebrationDay.Festivitiesbeganmid-morningwiththearrivalofShawnandCarolFisher(andfamily) and their trusty “Little Red Truck”, fully outfitted withdualgrills,tables,chairsandothertailgatingessentials.P a r k e d a l o n g s i d ethe Cornell FootballAssocia t ion’s owntailgatingvenue,LittleRedservedproudlyasthetailgatecenterpiece– even offering primeviewingandlisteningofthetraditionalpre-gameconcertby theCornellBigRedMarchingBand.

Withmidday temperaturesbarely reaching the low50s,thetailgaterswarmeduptoGeorgeHudler’saward-winningChili,ShawnandAliciaKenaley’ssucculentNewEnglandClamChowderandMarshallHayes’MulledCiderand“Ain’ttheAnchorBar,butPrettyDarnClose”BuffaloWings.Food,beveragesandcamaraderiewereplentiful!

On the field, the Big Red played host to the Ivy League rival PrincetonTigers and gave the home crowd of 7,122somethingtocheerabout,takinganearly13-0leadonastrongperformance by quarterback Nathan Ford and two field goals by

Brad Greenway.Cornell held a13-10 advantageg o i n g i n t oha l f t ime , andthe promise ofa victory gave

someofthePPPMBcrowdenoughincentivetoreturntotheparkinglotandkeepthepartygoing.

AlthoughtheTigerstookcontrolinthesecondhalf, thegame came to a thrilling end. Cornell’s Horatio Blackmancaughtatouchdownpasswith41secondsremaining,pullingtheBigRedtowithin5points.Afterrecoveringanonsidekick,CornellthendrovetothePrinceton15-yardlinewith9secondsleft. Ford’s final pass attempt to Jesse Baker fell incomplete as time expired. Sadly, the Big Red came up on the losing end of the final score of 31-26.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 10

Chili CookoffJoanne E Morello

ThePlantPathologyGraduateStudentAssociation onceagainparticipated inhosting theverypopular“Annual

BattleofthePlantSciencesChiliCookoff”inNovember2008.Forthisevent,volunteersfromPlantPathology,PlantBiology,

Plant Breeding andHorticulture put forthrepresentative chiliesinmeat,vegetarianandwild-card categories.Attendanceand tastingisfreetoalldepartmentmembers, who votefor their favorites ineachcategory.Turnout

wasgoodagain thisyear,and thegraduatestudentassociationswereable to raise money through raffle andbeveragesales.PlantPathologyhad several delicious chilies, andalthoughnonecamehomewiththegrand prize, they definitely earned somedepartmentmembersbraggingrights!DepartmentgraduatestudentBrianKingandhisband“BarleyLegal”alsoprovidedthelivemusicalentertainment.

Sandra Jensen at the Chili Cookoff .

John Gottula, Santiago Mideros and Michael Milgroom enjoy the festivities.

Brian King and his band “Barley Legal” provided live music.

Chili taste testers Kari Peters and Joanne Morello.

Department Doings Light in Winter EventDave Kalb

Aunique group of mycological and plant pathologicalrelated photos, videos and posters were displayed in

MannLibraryearlythisyearfromJanuarythroughtheendofFebruary.TheeventwasajointeffortfromKathieHodge,Dave Kalb, Kent Loeffler, Susanne Lipari and gradstudentsMarinBrewerandAlison Jack. The first part of the displays consistedofmanyframedphotosofunique minuscule fungiand related organismsphotographed from theboroscopewith interestingcaptionswrittenbyHodge.Manyofthesephotosarepartofabookpublished by Hodge and Loeffler entitled Beneath Notice.

Inadditiontothephotos,TVmonitorsranacontinuousloop of many of the time lapse videos created by Loeffler. VariousspecimensobtainedorproducedbyKalbandHodgewere photographed for time-lapse video in Kent’s studio.Thevideoswereorganizedinacontinuousloopforconstantplaybacktoentertainviewers.

The last items on display were a series of large (3' x 6') posterswithvariousfungalthemeslike“Fungalproductsinyourmedicinecabinet”.Thisposterwasalargecabinetrepresentingvarious itemsproducedorcontainingcompoundsproducedbyfungi.Onecouldliftupthetaboftheitemtorevealmoredetailed information about the fungal compounds. For example, under the part of the poster that showed a box of a prescription of“Migranal”onewouldreadaboutdihydroergotamine,usedas an anti-migraineproducedbyClaviceps p u r p u re a . T h e r ewere also posters onmycotoxins, “Fungi in yourpantry”and“Thegood,thebadandtheugly”

Althoughtheitemswere up for displayformanyweeks,theywereplannedaspartoftheannualIthacaWeekendCelebrationofArtandSciencecalled“LightinWinter”.Thepublic,youngandold,wasinvitedtoseethephotos,videosandpostersafterakick-offlecturegivenbyHodgeentitledBeneath Notice: Little Fungi for Good and Evil.

Overonehundredpeoplevisitedthedisplays,whichontheactualdayofthekick-offincludedacoloringtablewithvariousfungusrelateditemsfortheyoungerones.

Light in Winter display at Mann Library

An interactive poster at Light in Winter event.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 11

hosteda‘CheerswithyourPeers’happyhourontheSusanA.HenryGardenTerrace,adjacenttothePlantScienceBuilding.Thegoalwastobringtogetherplantsciencefaculty,staff,andstudentsforamiddle-of-the-weekbreatherinvolvingfrostyfermentedbeverages,lightsnacks,andcamaraderie.

Department Chair, George Hudler, came up with thisintoxicating idea early in the summer after previously attempting to initiate aweeklyhappyhour among faculty.ResearchassociateMarshallHayesandresearchtechnicianEricCarrwerequicktodonatetheirtimetosuchaworthycause. Marshall and Eric provided a diverse selection ofnonalcoholic beverages and local, domestic, and importedbeer, including fantastic homebrewed options courtesy ofEric and Dave Kalb. Beverages were also donated by theGraduateStudentAssociation(GSA)andRebeccaNelson’slab.Fruit,veggies,chipsandsalsa,pretzels,peanuts,andothertraditionalfarewereprovidedasafreeperk.Withaconvenientgardenvenue,food,andbeeronhand,everythingwassetinmotionforagoodtime.

BothMarshallandEricoperatedaccordingtothetime-honoredphilosophy,“providethebeerandpeoplewillcome,andaslongastheycome,thefestivitieswillcontinue.”Soonenough, the event became routine for the department andthere was often a line for beverages at 4:00 pm on the dot. Kent Loeffler, Phil Bronstein, and Melanie Filiatrault were amongtheregulars,andeveryonedeservescredit for theircontinuoussupport.

Lightentertainmentintheformoflivemusicwasaddedona fewoccasions.Early in thesummer,Eric jammedonthe guitar with Jay Worley on saxophone. To celebrate the beginningoftheschoolsemesterandwelcomenewstudentstothedepartment,theeventwastakenupanotch–twobeerswereservedontapwhiletwobandsservedasentertainment.Culled Onions, a two-piece blues/country/bluegrass band,and Barley Legal, a six-piece bluegrass band, played their bestmusicalnumbersforguestsfromPPPMB,PlantBiology,Horticulture,andPlantBreedingandGenetics.

‘Cheers with your Peers’ provided an atmosphere thatallowed individuals to meet-and-greet, discuss researchinterests, take a break from their taxing lab work, or just share alaughwithfellowcolleagues.Formanyindividualsitwasanicebreaktotheirworkweek.Eveniftheywerenotinterestedinhavingabeer,theywerestillabletocomeforthefreefoodandgoodcompany.

Thanks to the GSA for assuming responsibility of theevent,‘CheerswithyourPeers’continueseachweektoservethethirstymasses.

This beer is for you, George, Marshall, and Eric.Cheers!

2009 Annual Bowling TournamentJulia Crane

TheannualPPPMBbowlingtournamentwasheldonApril3rd at Cornell’s Helen Newman Lanes, and all reports

indicatedthatitwasanenormoussuccess!Over50faculty,staff,students,andtheirfamilymembersparticipatedintheevent,makingitevenlargerthanlastyear’stournament.Awidevarietyofskillswereondisplay,fromchildrenpracticingonbumper lanes to experts throwing down strikes. Bowlers from theIthacaandGenevadepartmentsfoughtside-by-side,andcamaraderiewasintheairasfriendsandpeerschattedoverpizza,soda,andbeer.

Of course, besides being fun, the tournament was alsoa competition between teams and individuals.The trophyforthebestteamaveragewenttotheGenevaTeam(126.5),withrunner-upteamMarinBreweretal.(124.2).ThehighestindividualscorewasrecordedbyNickGilbert(179),withNickSakowsky (161) andRyanSeipke (160) taking2nd and3rd,respectively. Unlikelastyear,whenstudent/p o s t d o c s t o p p e dfaculty/staff,thisyearFaculty/Staffbeatoutthestudents/postdocs,with an average of107.9vs.104.9.Teamsalsocompetedformostcreativeteamuniform,and while there werea number of originaloutfits to choose from, in the end team GillyFish, with a large fish picture on t-shirts, gottopprize.TeamGillyFishconsistedofCarolandShawnFisherandGreg,NickandTaylorGilbert,alongwithAndreaGilbert as team supporter. And finally, because mediocrity in sportscanneverbecelebratedenough,atrophywasgiventothepersonwhosehighestscorewasclosesttothetournamentaverage,andthatpersonwasPaoloZaini(109)!Therewasa two-way tie for second between Carol Fisher and DaveSchneider(107).

‘Cheers with your Peers’ Weekly EventEric Carr

Global financial crises have apeskywayof dampening

one’sspirits.Duringthesummerof 2009, two members of theDepartment of Plant PathologyandPlant-MicrobeBiologysetouttoboostdepartmentalmoralebysponsoringaweeklysocialevent.Forelevenweeks,PPPMB

Winner of the most most creative team uniform for the PPPMB bowling tournament

Department Doings

For eleven weeks, PPPMB hosted a ‘Cheers with your Peers’ happy hour

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 12

Holiday Luncheon Binghamton Mets baseball game 5/17/09

Retirements

Nelson Terwilliger was joined by his wife Linda and daughter Lisa at a reception held on December �, 200� in honor of his retirement.

Margaret Haus is honored by Jim Lorbeer as Carol Fisher looks on. Ken Sandlan discusses his new retirement with George Hudler and Bill Fry.

Susanne Lipari commemorates her retirement with her son Dominic.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 1�

A Great Year at the Uihlein FarmKeith Perry

Agreatgrowingseasonandoutstandingstaffhavemade2008abonusyearattheUihleinFarm.Wehadarecord

harvestandwereatcapacitywithatotalyieldof7990cwt(799,000lbs)ofpotatoesharvestedandinstorage.Importantly,most allof thecropwas soldand shippedoff theFarm inspring 2009, an approximately 59% increase from the previous year.Amongthefactorscontributingtothesuccessweregoodrainfallandmoisturewelldistributedoverthecourseoftheseason,andanincreasedplantingofvarietiesinhighdemand.A few notable recent trends and events:

• up to 60,000 minitubers per year are produced andapproximately 65 potato varieties are grown in the field

• there are now 11 certified seed potato producers operating in NY State; one seed grower is organic (double-certified) and asecondorganicproducerisstartingproductionin2009

•outsidecontractsfortissuecultureservices,minitubers,and field production continue to increase and clients for foundationseedproduction include theUSDA-ARSpotatobreedingprogram

•beginningin2005-2006,seedordersfromoutofstatehave been accepted and now represent 19% of the total seed sales

• 48% of the seed ordered for 2009 is golden nematode resistant(largelyCornelldevelopedvarieties)

• the crash of a small plane in our fields in July 2008 was anunusualevent,but fortunately resulted innodamage topersonsorpotatoes

For those less familiar with the Farm history andoperation…

TheUihleinFarmofCornellUniversityisthefoundationseedpotatofarmforNewYorkStateandhasbeeninoperationsince1961.The569acresiteinLakePlacid,NYhas~180tillableacresandtheFarmincludesatissueculturelaboratoryand attached greenhouse, two plastic houses, a workshop,storage warehouse, pesticide storage and handling facility,andtwofamilyresidence.TheFarmwasestablishedthroughtheeffortsofDr.EdwardD.JonesandthenPlantPathologyDepartmentChairmanDr.GeorgeKentworkingincooperationwith the New York Certified Seed Potato Growers. A delightful readingof thehistoryof theFarmwaspublished in2001,The Uihlein Farm of Cornell University - The History of the Uihlein Farm and Development of Potato Seed Stocks by Tissue CulturebyEdwardD.Jones,PhD.

The primary mission of the Farm has been to producediseasetested,foundationpotatoseedinservicetotheseedpotatogrowersandpotato industryofNewYorkState.AnincreasinglyimportantpartoftheFarm’smissionisitsroleinsupportoftheGoldenNematode(GN)managementprogramincooperationwiththeDepartmentsofHorticulture(Dr.Don

Halseth)andPlantBreedingandGenetics(Dr.WalterDeJong),NYSDepartmentofAgricultureandMarkets,USDA-APHIS,andUSDA-ARS(Dr.XiaohongWang,alsoourDepartment).TheFarmbothproducesdisease-testednuclearstocksofGNresistantpotatovarietiesandshortensthedevelopmenttimeforreleaseofGNresistantvarietiesbytwotothreeyears.

The Uihlein Farm is a remarkable facility in a uniquesetting.Itspotentialhasbeenrealizedthroughthededicationand commitment of the employees who run the operation.Continuity and guidance has been provided by DennisLawrencewhostartedworkingattheFarmin1970!Thoughretired in 2005, Dennis continues to work half time andresides at the Farm. The two other field staff, Larry Strack and DennisLawrenceJr.,seethepotatoesthroughfromplantingtoharvest,gradinganddelivery;theyoperateandrepairallofthefarmmachinery(includingtheharvesterthatbrokedownthispastseason).FollowingtheretirementofBarryMelchingin2007,ChrisNobleswashiredonandnowmanagesmostoftheFarmoperation.ChrishasaCornelldegreeinagriculturalengineering and background experience in business finance andmanagement.CherylCraftandJohnEnglishoverseethelabandgreenhouseoperation.Cherylhasbeenwiththefarm9yearsandisresponsibleforthetissuecultureprogram.Twohalf time staff members, Chris Plank and Kathy Moody, fill in to take on a variety of tasks in the greenhouse and field. TheDepartment is fortunate tohave suchagreatgroupofindividualsservingtheUniversityandthepotatoindustryofNYState.

Facilities

Uihlein Farm StaffDennis Lawrence, formerFarmManagerAsaboy,harvestedpotatoesinLakePlacidfor8centsabushel.BeganemploymentattheUihleinFarmin1970Retiredin2005,butstillworkinghalftime

Barry Melching,formerLabManagerCornellPlantPathologyM.S.graduatein1972StartedworkingattheUihleinFarmin1976Retiredin2007.

Chris Plank,GreenhouseandFieldStaffStartedworkingattheUihleinFarmin1981Workshalftime

Cathy Moody,GreenhouseandFieldStaffStartedworkingattheUihleinFarmin1992Worksseasonally

Continued on pg 1�

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 1�

Herbarium Notesby Robert Dirig (Curator)

Theyear2008broughtmanychangestotheDepartment’sworld-class Plant Pathology Herbarium (CUP), which

containsca.400,000specimensoffungi,historicalphotographs,anddiseasedplantvouchers.WebeganmovingfromtemporaryquartersonSouthHilltoourbeautifulnewHerbariumbuildingoffGameFarmRoadinDecember2007,andcontinuedintotheearlypartof2008.

On May 1, 2008, I began working as the new Curatorof CUP, after nearly 28 years of curatorial experience at the BaileyHortoriumHerbarium,whichhousesCornell’svascularplants,bryophytes,andalgae.Aftersettling,Kathie HodgeandIhostedanOpenHouseonMay28ththatwasattendedbyabout75guestsfromthecampusandcommunity.WedebutedacolorfulCUPbrochureatthattime,andhavecontinuedtodistributemanycopiesintheinterim.

TheLichenHerbarium,whichhadbeenstoredforseveralyearswithmeattheBaileyHortorium,wasmovedbackto

CUPinJuneandJuly,andreorganizedinseveralcases.Wehadanunprecedentedlevelofactivitywithlichensin2008,including 11 loans, 9 gifts, and 1 exchange, with some activity orquestionnearlyeveryweekoftheyear.

UnpackingandorganizingofCUPspecimensproceededthroughoutthesummerandfall.Doug Murray,whocomestovolunteeronThursdaymornings,helpedmeunpackandarrange three historical collections: a huge Reprint Collection, ourspecimenspreservedinliquid,andthousandsofmicroscopeslides. We also finished unpacking the Atkinson Herbarium, andmovedandorganizedallremainingCUPmaterialfromanadjacentbuilding,whereithadbeenstoredforseveralyears.Intheautumn,weinventoriedthecollection,labeledcases,consolidated special collections and specimen-processingsupplies, and distributed extra journals to libraries. Our new buildinghasproven tobeabeautifulandconvenientplacetowork.

OtherHerbariumpersonnel,inadditiontoKathieandme,include Emeritus Director Dick Korf and twoHonorary Curators of Fungi (Francoise Candoussau inFranceandTeresa Iturriaga,aformergraduatestudentoftheDepartment,who now lives in Venezuela). We had five volunteers in 2008 (contributing 124 hours), including Doug; also Lee Kass,who helped move; and undergraduates Alfonso Doucette, Oliver Ott, and Torben Russo, who helped with movingandspecimens.

The year 2008’s general statistics included 38 loantransactions (incoming, outgoing, returns), 1 exchange, and 16 gifts (395 specimens from Oliver Ott, Nina Shishkoff,and others). Kathie, Dick, and I handled 268 requests forinformation or identification, and we hosted 261 people at 30events(23tours),including118visitorsattheHerbarium.Altogether, 2008 was very productive, and it is wonderfulfinally to have the collection reassembled and accessible for visitors.

Thepresentyearhasseentheissueoftwonewfascicles(50specimens)ofDickKorf’s Discomycetes Exsiccati(anongoingseriesofdiverseascomycetespecimens),whichwepublishedinthewinterandsenttothirteenotherherbariathroughouttheworld. In early April, a large delegation of Chinese officials and diplomatsvisitedCornelltocelebratetheformalrepatriationoftheirFungi of Chinacollection,whichhadbeensenttoourHerbariumforsafekeepingduringWW-II.Inearlysummer,IdidacarefulinventoryoftheG.F.AtkinsonHerbarium,andlearnedagreatdealaboutthisimportanthistoricalcollectionof109,000specimens.AsIwrite,weareabouttoshipmorethan2000specimensoftheFungiofChinabacktoBeijing.Inthemeantime,wehavecontinuedtosendloans,identifyspecimens,hostvisitors,conduct tours,andperformall theotherdailyfunctionsofalargefungalmuseum.

Department personnel, students, and alumni, as well asotherUniversityandcommunitymembers,arewelcometovisitournewbuildingandseeandusethecollection.WearealsohappytoarrangetoursforCornellcoursesoroutsidegroups.Pleasesendamessagetoouremailaddress(cup-herbarium@cornell.edu)toscheduleavisit.

Facilities Larry Strack,FieldStaffStartedworkingattheUihleinFarmin1996Can fix most any farm equipment that breaks

Cheryl Craft,ResearchSupportSpecialistSUNYESFBiologyM.S.graduatein1987WorkedinCornellPlantPathology1987-1998StartedworkingattheUihleinFarmin2000Overseesthelabtissuecultureoperation

Dennis Lawrence Jr.,FieldStaffGrewuplivingattheresidenceontheUihleinFarmStartedworkingattheUihleinFarmin2005

John English,LabandGreenhousestaffHarvestedpotatoesattheUihleinFarmin2006asseasonalhelp;subsequentlyhiredfulltime

Chris Nobles,FarmSupervisorCornellAgriculturalEngineeringB.S.graduate,1997StartedworkingattheUihleinFarmin2007

Uihlein Farm Staff continued

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 15

Photo Lab News 2009by Kent Loeffler

It’s been an exciting year so far in the PPPMB Photo Lab. First and foremost, the lab still exists! With all the economic

problemsoftheworld,country,state,university,department,andmywalletthisisnosmallaccomplishment.

In January, Kathie Hodge and I presented another exhibit of borescopeimagesoffungiintheMannLibrary’sbeautifulartgallery (http://gallery.mannlib.cornell.edu/galleryinfo.html).This exhibit, entitled “Beneath Notice”, consisted of 25 framed images of tiny fungi photographed in the field the previous yearwithaborescopelens.ThephotoswereaccompaniedbyKathies“fungaloutbursts”,wittyandinsightfulobservationsonthelifeandlovesofthefungalworld.Abriefdescriptionof theborescope-camerasetupandagalleryof imagescanbefoundonthePhotoLabswebsite(http://www.plantpath.cornell.edu/PhotoLab/Boroscope/Boroscope-main.html).We also exhibited a continuous loop of time lapse movies of mushroomsgrowingandfungirottingfruits,vegetables,andtothehorrorofthelibrarypatronsapaperbackbook.Thetimelapsemovieswere created in thePhotoLab anddisplayedonthelibrary’snewlargescreenHDmonitors.Agalleryofpictures from the show is available on the Mann Librarieswebsite(http://gallery.mannlib.cornell.edu/previous_exhibits/Beneath%20notice/index.htm).

To accompany the exhibit we created (with the help of Noni Korf-Vidal)acatalogof75borescopeimageswithoutbursts.Thisbookis,ifImaysaysomyself,stunninglybeautifulandinformative.Nomushroomlover’shomeshouldbewithoutit.LookingforagiftfortheMycologistwhohaseverything?“BeneathNotice”isavailablefromLuluPress(http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/beneath-notice/6500441)andalsoAmazon(http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Notice-Kent-Loeffler/dp/B0029J7TZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253298743&sr=1-1).

InMay,KathieandIwereinvitedbytheProvostoftheUniversityofRochester(UofR)tospeakaboutourborescopephotographyprojectattheUofR’sInstituteofOptics.DuncanMoore, Chairman of the institute of Optics, founded thecompanyfromwhichwepurchasedtheborescopesandhasbeenabigsupporterofourproject.Afterourtag-teamdogandponyshow,weweretreatedtoawineandcheesereceptionanddinneratatoitydowntownrestaurant.Isn’tthatthewayworkshouldbeeveryday!

In other news, we posted some 30+ time lapse movieson the Photo Lab web site (http://www.plantpath.cornell.edu/PhotoLab/TimeLapse2/TimeLapse_MainGallery.html).Checkthemout.Somearebeautifulandsomejustdownrightscary!While you’re at it have a gander at the gallery of

Cornell panoramic “planets” (http://www.plantpath.cornell.edu/PhotoLab/PicOfMonth/POM9/PanoPlanets_FlashGallery/index.html).You’re sure to recognize the Plan(e)t ScienceBuildingfromthefrontcoverofthisnewsletter.

Also, we’ve just purchased three new computers forteachingPhotoshopworkshopsforstudentsandstaffofthedepartment. The lab has been 100% digital for about 5 years nowandImustsay,PhotoshopROCKS!

Time lapse movies are available on the photo lab web site

Facilities

Borescope image by Kent Loeffler

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 1�

Northeast Plant Diagnostic NetworkKaren L. Snover-Clift

WehaveservedasamemberoftheNationalPlantDiseaseNetwork (NPDN) and as the regional center for the

Northeast,knownastheNortheastPlantDiagnosticNetwork(NEPDN) for sevenyears.Wearecurrently inour second,five-year cooperative agreement that runs through 2012.As you may remember from our introduction and updatesinpastnewsletters,thenetworkwasestablishedtoenhance

national agriculturalsecur i ty by quicklydetecting introducedpestsandpathogens.Thenetwork allows Land

GrantUniversitydiagnosticiansandfaculty,StateAgricultureand Markets personnel, and first detectors to efficientlycommunicateinformation,images,andmethodsofdetectionthroughoutthesysteminatimelymanner.

A number of faculty and staff work with the program.Our Chariman, Dr. George Hudler holds the position ofDirector of the NEPDN. Karen L. Snover-Clift serves astheAssociateDirectorof theNEPDNandChairmanof theNationalDiagnosticsSubcommitteeandtheNationalDatabaseSubcommittee.OthermembersoftheNEPDNRegionalCenterteam include Karen Scott as the InformationTechnologySpecialist, Mary McKellar as the Education andTrainingCoordinator(wholeftthedepartmentinAugusttopursueasecondmastersdegreeineducation),andSandraJensen-TracyasourClinic’s leadDiagnostician.TheNortheast region iscomprisedof12landgrantuniversitiesandanAgriculturalExperiment Station which include the University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station, University of Delaware, University of Maine, Universityof Maryland, University of Massachusetts, University ofNew Hampshire, Rutgers University, Cornell University,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity,UniversityofRhode Island,UniversityofVermont,andWestVirginiaUniversity.

It has been an exciting year. We had a new find of Oak Wilt hereinNewYorkState.ItwasfoundinanisolatedareanearAlbanythatis200milesfromanyotherknownsite.Alsoanumber of our members identified a new apple rust pathogen, Gymnosporangium yamadae.Theapple rustpathogenmayhavebeenhere for some timeas it is easilyconfusedwithotherGymnosporangiumrusts.Acommunicationintheformofapestalertwasdistributedthroughourregionallistserveand within a week we had two new state identifications. In all, our members reported 14 new pathogen identifications duringthepastyear.

AdditionalresponsibilitiesoftheNEPDNregionalcenterincluded the provision of training, guidance, and samplediagnosesfortheregion,aswellasback-upforthefourotherNPDN regional centers. One regional center staff membermet the requirements to become provisionally certified to conduct Phytophthora ramorum testing at the Regional

Center laboratory. The certification program benefited the entireNetwork inasmuchas there arenow ten laboratoriesthat are approved toprocess these samples.This continuesto relieve pressure on the APHIS confirmatory laboratory in Beltsville,Maryland,becauseonlyregionalpositiveresultswere forwarded to them for confirmation, thus lowering the numberofsuspectsamplesthattheyneededtoprocess.Wecontinue to process samples associated with Phytophthoraramorum,thecausalagentofSuddenOakDeath/RamorumBlight.The only samples being collected for a survey aredonebyanumberofNortheasternStatesthroughtheUnitedStatesForestService.AdditionallythePDDC,actingastheNEPDNRegionalCenter,supportedallourNEPDNmembersby providing DNA extractions and molecular testing for anyone notcapableofperformingthesetechniques.Wearecontinuingthe search for Phakopsora pachyrhizi, the causal agent ofSoybeanRust.ThisyearweareworkingwithGaryBergstromandhissentinelplotprogramtodetermineifthepathogenhasmoved into New York State. So far, no confirmed cases!

TrainingisamajorcomponentoftheNEPDNmission.Weprovide training to our regional members and to first detectors. ThisyearweworkedwithourcolleaguesinBeltsville,MDattheUSDA-APHIS-PPQ-CPHST-NationalPlantGermplasm& B i o t e c h n o l o g yLaboratory to offeradvancemorphologicaland molecular trainingo n P h y t o p h t h o r a kernoviae (a Europeanpathogen thought tobe more aggressiveand damaging thanP. r a m o r u m ) a n don the potato wartpathogen, Synchytrium endobioticum.NineNEPDNmembersattendedtheP. kernoviaetraining and five NEPDN members attended the potato wart training. Receiving this training for the identification of these pathogensisacriticalcomponentofourNPDNpreparednessmission.

Amajorfunctionofthenetworkistocaptureinformationaboutsamplesalreadymovingthroughthelandgrantuniversity(andsometimesstatedepartmentofagriculture)laboratories.Between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009, the NEPDNlaboratoriesprocessedatotalof15,861samples.Asweenterour8th year, we are confident in our ability to train others on thepotentialriskstoouragricultureandnaturalresources,toperformthetestingrequiredtoquicklyidentifythepestsandpathogensofconcernandasneeded,tocommunicateallthisinformationtotherespondersinthesystem.WehavecomealongwaythankstothesupportandfundingopportunitiesgiventousthroughtheNationalPlantDiagnosticNetwork.

Training program for regional members

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 1�

Karen L. Snover-Clift and Sandra Jensen-Tracy

Pl a n t D i s e a s e Diagnostic Clinic

The 2008-2009 season in the Plant Disease DiagnosticClinicwascharacteristicofmostyearswiththemajority

ofsamplesbeingornamentalwoodyevergreensanddeciduoustreesandshrubs.Samplesweresubmittedbyhomeowners,commercial growers, consultants, extension personnel, researchers,andregulatoryagents.TheClinicnotonlyreceivessamples from within NewYork State (NYS) but a largepercentageofthesamplescomefromout-of-stateclients.Inadditiontowoodyornamentals,vegetables,fruit,turf,annuals,perennials,andforagecropswerealsosubmitted.TheClinicalso receives occasional samples for fungal identification, althoughsomefalloutsidetherealmofplantpathologywithdogvomit(possiblemushroomconsumption)andhouseholdspottingbytheartilleryfungusbeingtwomajortopics.

A big event in August 2008 was the first ever identification ofOakWilt,Ceratocystis fagacearum,inNewYorkState.TheclinicprocessedanumberofsamplesfromvarioussitesbutitappearsthisinfectionzonewasaverysmallarealocatednearAlbany,NY.Wethoughtthe2009growingseasonmightbeaninterestingonewithaverywet,coolSpringandwewerenotdisappointed.ThisseasonbroughtonalateblightoutbreakatascaleneverseenbeforeinNewYorkStateandthenortheastregion. Reports on the identification of Phytophthora infestansonTomatobeganinlateJuneandquestionsaboutthediseasecontinuedwellintoOctober.WereceivedreportsfromeveryStateintheNortheastandasfarWestasOhioandasfarSouthas South Carolina. Fifty-five of 62 counties in New York State reported positive finds. The Clinic received numerous calls andemailsasnewspaperarticlesbeganappearinginsmall,local, extension publications and the granddaddy of the all, TheNewYorkTimeswhichrananarticle titled,“YouSayTomato,ISayAgriculturalDisaster”.Homegardenerswantedtoknowhowtotreatthesoil,howtopreventthediseasefromreappearing,iftheycouldeatthetomatofruit,andiftheycouldcan the tomato fruit. The pathogen was first seen in samples from big box stores and may have spread rapidly through this distributionchain.

TheClinicalsoregularlyprocessessamplesthatmaybeof regulatory concern since we serve as the plant diseasediagnosticlaboratoryfortheNYSDepartmentofAgricultureand Markets (DAM). In the fall of 2008 and 2009, weconfirmed the diagnosis of Chrysanthemum White Rust(CWR),causedbyPuccinia horiana, onnumerousgreenhousesamplessubmittedbyNYSDAMinspectors.SurveyingforCWRinNYShasbeencarriedoutforthelast12yearsthroughtheCAPS(CooperativeAgriculturalPestSurvey)program.Wealso had the supposedly common disease but rare identification ofChrysanthemumBrownRust,Puccinia tanaceti,thisyear.Additionally,wehavebeenperformingasurveyforBacterialLeafScorchasmoreandmore,mainlyoak,treesappeartohave

leafscorchSymptoms.Wehaveroutinelybeengettingpositiveresults for out-of-state samples (Virginia, North Carolinaand Georgia) but none from within NYS have delivered apositive reading this year. We enjoy fulfilling our role in the identification process of various regulatory pathogens and in assisting regulatory agents in a rapid confirmation or rejection of the presence of a harmful agent. Each year brings newchallenges,butasalways,ifthereisanythingthePlantDiseaseDiagnosticClinicstaffcandotohelpdiagnoseand/oranswerquestionsaboutyourplantproblems,pleasecontactus.Weareheretohelp!

Oak Wilt in New York StateBy Shawn Kenaley

Redoaks(subgenusQuercus: section Lobatae)aresomeofthemostrecognizableandbelovedtreespeciesineastern

NorthAmerica.Theyalsoareamongthemosteconomicallyand ecologically important trees, providingquality lumber,firewood, long-lived ornamental shade trees, and wildlife habitatandfeed.Oakwilt,causedby Ceratocystis fagacearum,isadestructiveandfrighteningvasculardiseasethatcankillalarge,otherwisehealthyredoakinasinglegrowingseason.Theoak wilt fungus was first described in 1944 following the initial discoveryofthepathogeninWisconsin.Thespreadofoakwilthas exacted a heavy toll on forests and urban landscapes in the midwesternandeasternU.S.,killingthousandsofoakseachyear.InAugustof2008,SandraJensen-Tracy,diagnosticianattheCornellPlantDiseaseClinic,receivedseveralbranchestaken by Christopher Logue (Cornell Coop. Exten., Schenctady, Co.)fromwiltingnorthernredoak(Q.rubra)growingwithintheGlenOakscommunityinGlenville,NY.Oneolive-greyfunguswith“beautiful”endoconidia,phialides,andafruit-likeodorwasconsistentlyisolatedfromaffectedtissue.ThefunguswassuspectedtobeCeratocystisfagacearumandtheidentitywas later confirmed by Dr. Tom Harrington’s laboratory at Iowa StateUniversity.ThisdiscoveryshiftsthenortheasternlimitofoakwiltoccurrenceintheU.S.byatleast200miles.

HomeownersintheGlenOaksneighborhoodnotedthatatleast12redoaksdiedduringthelast3yearsandfollowinginspectionbyCornellscientists,12additionaltreeswerefoundexpressing oak wilt-like symptoms. As a result, swift action was taken by the NY State Department of EnvironmentalConservation(DEC).TheappearanceoftheoakwiltfungusintheCapitaldistrictmotivatedstateauthoritiestoinitiateaneradicationcampaignandquarantine themovementofoakmaterialfromthesite.Intheearlyspringof2009,infectedtreesaswellasallneighboringredoak(<200maway)werecut,chipped,andincineratedatanoff-siteburnfacility.Atotalof69treeswereremovedacrossseveralresidentialproperties.DECscientistsplantomonitoroakswithintheneighborhoodand surrounding forest for the next 2–4years todetect thepossiblere-emergenceofthisdestructivedisease.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 1�

Book, DVD, Podcasts“Diseases of Herbaceous Perennials” is Published

ThisJuneacomprehensiveandbeautifullyillustratednewbook,Diseases of Herbaceous Perennials,waspublished

byAPSPRESS.MargeryD a u g h t r e y, S e n i o rExtension Associate, was one of the teamof authors, which alsoincluded Mark Gleasonand Daren Mueller ofIowa State University,Ann Chase of ChaseResearch Gardens inMountAukum,Californiaand Gary Moorman ofPennStateUniversity.

D i s e a s e s o f Herbaceous Perennials has informationonmore

than 150 herbaceous perennial plants and their diseases,arranged inaconvenientencyclopedicformat.Thebook isintended for use by commercial nurserymen, professionaland private gardeners and diagnosticians. There are 800illustrationsofplantsandtheirdiseasesthroughoutthe287-pagebook,andthesephotosarealsoavailableonaCDthatallowsimagedownloadforuseinpowerpointpresentations.

The book has been well received in its first few months. Favorable reviews have been published in both Englishand Dutch. A number of excellent images of flower bulb diseaseswereprovidedfromThe Netherlands for use inDiseases of Herbaceous Perennials. Images werealso generously contributedby the authors’ colleaguesfromacrosstheUnitedStatesas well as from Denmarkand Japan. Illustrations oftheplants and theirdiseasesoriginated fromgardenson theCornell campus, aswell asfrompublicandprivategardensinCanada,Denmark,Franceand the United States. “Every scientific meeting, every talk that I’ve given in the past five years was an opportunity to visit lovely gardens to examine perennials for intriguing (and photogenic!)symptoms.Commercialperennialnurseriesveryobliginglyallowedmetoprowlaboutforhours,lookingfortrouble,”saidMargery.

Samples collected in NY nurseries were identified at the Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center’s diagnostic laboratory, and these were supplemented bythe perennials that growers and landscapers submitted fordiagnosis in NewYork, California, Pennsylvania, Iowaand several other states. The book thus reflects the authors’ awareness of problems currently affecting herbaceousperennialsinthehorticulturaltradeontheWestandEastCoastsaswellasintheMidwest.“Thisteamofauthorsbroughtalotof experience and a lot of different perspectives to the project, and,asaresult,thebookisfarbetterthanitwouldbewithany single author,” Margery claims. Diseases threateningplanthealthduringproductionaswellasproblemsaffectingplantsinthegardenareconsideredwithinthebook.Readerswhoarenewtothestudyofplantpathologywillappreciatetheintroductorysection,whichdescribesandillustratesthebasictypesofdiseases.

Any gardener, any phytopathologist, or any gardeningphytopathologistwilllikethisbook!Fororderinginformation,seehttp://www.shopapspress.org/diofhepe1.html

Meg McGrath on National Garden Radio Show MegMcGrathappearedonThe Garden HotlineradioshowonJuly19,2009.HostRalphSnodsmithspoketoMegaboutthelatestupdateonlateblight.Listentothepodcastathttp://podcast.wor710.com/wor/1857674.mp3

Dick Korf on NPR DickKorf,professoremeritus,wasinterviewedbyRobertSiegelonNationalPublicRadioregardingthecollectionoffungithatwasrepatriatedtoChinainApril2009.Toseethetranscript and listen to the interview go to:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103104825

Kathie Hodge Featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and Cornell’s CyberTowerKathieHodgewasfeaturedonNPR’sScienceFridayonSeptember 12, 2008. The episode was entitled “Fungi: TheGood,TheBadandTheEdible.”ListentotheNPRpodcast at:http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200809124

Kathiealso tookpart inCornell’sSchoolofContinuingEducation and Summer Sessions in July 2009 through aCyberTowerpresentationentitled“AVisittotheMushroomPlanet.” See: http://cybertower.cornell.edu/lodetails.cfm?id=406

Powdery Mildew on Dahlia

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 19

“The Science of Fire Blight”Steven V. Beer

IampleasedtoannounceourrecentlyproducedDVDentitled,“TheScienceofFireBlight”.Itresultedfromthesynergistic

effortsofmanypersons inCollegeofAgricultureandLifeSciences,bothinGenevaandIthaca,aswellasseveralendowedunitsofCornell.TheDVDgrewfromthe“outreach”aspectof the genome-sequencing project of the fire blight pathogen, Erwinia amylovora, whichwassupportedbytheNSF-USDAMicrobial Genome Sequencing Program. For that project,

amodulewasdeveloped,particularly for secondaryschoolbiology classes,that emphasizedthe importance ofmoleculargeneticsand approachesto experimental science using thefire blight – pear and apple diseases y s t e m . T h eCornell Institutef o r B i o l o g yTeachers (CIBT,whichissupportedbytheHowardHughesMedicalInstitute)workedincollaborationwithpeopleinmyresearchprogram

Book, DVD, PodcaststodeveloptheprogramthatisavailabletohighschoolbiologyteachersandclassesthroughouttheStateofNewYork.

“The Science of Fire Blight” was developed mainlyto address the needs of Extension personnel in the field and fruit growerswhose training mayhave preceded theexplosive growth in ourunderstandingofbiology, particularlymolecular aspects,inthepastfewyears.A secondary goalwas to clarify to thetarget audience therelevance of current CALS research on fire blight to the practicalproblemsofarecalcitrantdiseasethathasplaguedfruit growers in NewYork State from their earliest days,morethantwocenturiesago.CSREESSpecialGrantshavesupported,forseveralyears,muchoftheworkonFireBlightdescribedontheDVD.

HerearetheannotatedcreditsfortheDVD.Director and Narrator: Sara Carpenter,CornellM.S.inPlantPathology;Steven Beer, Chair of the Special Committee; Deborah Trumbull,representedEducation;(Atpresent,SaraisaM.A.T.studentatSUNY,Cortland).

Producers: Steven Beer, Professor of Plant PathologyandPlant-Microbe-Biology,Ithaca;Juliet Carroll,NYSIPMCoordinatoroftheFruitProgram,Geneva

Writers:Sara Carpenter, Steven Beer, Juliet Carroll Animation and Video: Eric Becker, Undergraduate

ResearcherinPPPMBandBiologyandFilmMajor,CollegeofArtsandSciences,Cornell.

Time Lapse Photography: Kent Loeffler,Photographer,DepartmentofPlantPathologyandPlant-Microbe-Biology,Ithaca

DVD Copying: Communication Services, NYSAES, Geneva

AllpresentandseveralpastpersonneloftheBeer(Ithaca)andAldwinckle (Geneva) research programs appear in“The Science of Fire Blight”. Photographs and filming was accomplished in labs and orchards in both locations, andseveralscientistsprovidedphotographs.

Animation used in “The Science of Fireblight”

Interview with Steven Beer during the DVD

The 1�-minute “The Science of Fire Blight” DVD

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 20

CongratulationsAlan Collmer Honored with CALS Award for Achievements in Research

AlanCollmerreceivedCornellUniversity’s2008CollegeofAgricultureandLifeSciences’AwardforOutstanding

Accomplishments in Basic Research. Candidates for thisaward are recognized for their scholarly contributions totheirdisciplineasdeterminedbythequalityandnumberoftheir publications and awards from professional societies.The Awards Committee specifically acknowledged Alan’s pioneeringresearchprogramtoidentifythemolecularbasisfor bacterial-plant interactions in plant diseases caused byPseudomonasspp.andthemanyadvancesinbasicbiologyofhost-pathogeninteractionsthathaveresultedfromit.AlanhasbeenattheforefrontofhisareaofresearchfromhisearliestdaysasagraduatestudentatCornellandhecontinuestobeso with the same enthusiasm and dedication to excellence 30+yearslater.

Collmer Appointed as the Andrew J. and Grace B. Nichols Professor

In November 2008,Alan Collmer was appointed as theAndrew J. and Grace B. Nichols Professor, College of

AgricultureandLifeSciences.Andrew“Jack”Nichols(CornellB.S.Agriculture ’34) had made important contributions tointernational agriculture afterWorldWar II in Europe andsubsequently in this hemisphere as director of the USDALatinAmericatechnicalassistanceprogram.JackgrewupinruralupstateNewYorkandmethiswifeGracewhenservingasanassistantcountyagriculturalagentinOrleansCounty.Jackdiedin1997,Gracein2007,andtheirgenerousbequesttoCALSwasusedtoestablishtheAndrewJ.andGraceB.NicholsProfessorship,tobeawardedtoafacultymemberineithertheDepartmentofEntomologyortheDepartmentofPlantPathologyandPlant-MicrobeBiology.

InAugust2009,severalmembersof theNicholsfamilyvisitedAlaninhislab,wherehelearnedmoreabouttheirUncleJackandAuntGraceandthemanyconnectionsthisfamilyhaswithCornell,agriculture,andupstateNewYork.ThemeetingalsogaveAlanachancetotoutthemanyusesofaneducationinplantpathology,asindicatedbyafewrecentachievementsof former lab members. For example, Segenet Kelemu is nowDirectorof theBioscienceseasternandcentralAfrica(BecA)Hub inNairobi,ShengYangHe received the2009DistinguishedFacultyAwardatMichiganStateUniversity,andAdela Ramos was recently named Food Safety SeniorAdvisortoUSDAbySecretaryVilsack.

Congratulations to Our Newest Alumni2009TaeSungKim Ph.D JanuaryChristopherGee Ph.D. MayAmaraCamp M.S. MayAngelaNelson Ph.D. MayKathrynBushley Ph.D August

Congratulations to Those Students Who Have Passed Their ‘A’ Exams

2008SantiagoMideros November RebeccaNeslosnDanielMoebius-CluneNovember TeresaPawlowska

2009BradfordCondon August GillianTurgeon

Marin Talbot Brewer wins MSA Awards

GraduateStudentMarinTalbotBrewerwonthreeawardsfromtheMycologicalSocietyofAmericainthesummer

of2009.TheawardsincludedBestStudentOralPresentation,aGraduateFellowship,andtheRichardP.KorfMentorTravelAward.NicejobMarin!

Collaborative Crop Research Program to Expand with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grant

Dr.RebeccaNelson,AssociateProfessorintheDepartmentofPlantPathologyandPlant-MicrobeBiology,serves

as the Scientific Director of The McKnight Foundation’s CollaborativeCropResearchProgram(CCRP).TheMcKnightFoundationrecentlyreceivedthegoodnewsthatTheBill&Melinda Gates Foundation has granted $26.7 million toexpand the CCRP. With this expansion, Nelson will take on thenewroleofLiaisonScientistfortheCCRPgrantsclusterintheEastandHornofAfrica.

She and her family spent the Spring 2009 semester inKenyaonsabbatical,toadvancetheCCRPworkintheregionandtofurtherherlab’seffortsonmaizediseaseresistance.ShewashostedattheBioSciencesEastandCentralAfricahubattheInternationalLivestockResearchInstituteinNairobi.

Readmoreabout theGatesFoundationGrantathttp://www.mcknight.org/newsandviews/

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 21

In The NewsBy Sarah Perdue, Cornell ChronicleFeb. 11, 2009

Thosepeskyfungithatwreakhavoconsuchimportantcropsascornandwheatjustmightbethekeytolow-costbiofuel

production,reportCornellresearcherswhohaveimprovedamethod to screen hundreds of fungal species rapidly to find ones that can most efficiently produce biofuels.

AreportabouttheirmethodisavailableonlineandwillbepublishedinaforthcomingissueofthejournalBiotechnologyandBioengineering.

To make ethanol from plants, complex cellulose molecules inplantcellwallsneedtobebrokendownintosimplesugarsthat are thenfermentedintoethanol. Plantp a t h o g e n i cf u n g i h a v ee v o l v e d t oquickly ande f f i c i e n t l ybreakdowncellwalls as theyinfect plants,making theman untappedresource int h e s e a r c hf o r c h e a pb i o e t h a n o l ,s a i d M a r i eD o n n e l l y ,a g r a d u a t estudent in biological and environmental engineering and aco-leadauthorofthestudy.

Thisstudyisanimportantearlystepinidentifyingbiofuelsources from agricultural plant waste, said Cornell plantpathologistandadjunctprofessorDonnaGibsonandseniorauthor of the paper. Current bioethanol production is tooinefficient to be cost-effective, Donnelly added. Also, most bioethanolisderivedfromfeedcorn,whichhasmadecornmore expensive due to an increase in demand.

“We were looking for fungi that most efficiently break downnonfoodplantmaterials,suchasswitchgrassandcropresidues,”shesaid.

The researchers extracted cellulose-degrading enzymes, orcellulases,fromfourfungalspecies.Theytestedtheabilityof the extracts to break down cellulose sources, from pure cellulosetoplantsthemselves.

“Untilrecently,mostresearchhasfocusedonjustcellulose

degradation,buttheplantcellwallismorecomplicatedthanpurecellulose,”saidBrianKing,agraduatestudentinplantpathologyandplant-microbebiologyandalsoaco-leadauthor.“We’rehopingtoidentifyenzymesthataremoreeffectiveonplantmaterialthanthecurrentindustrialenzymes.”

Current methods assess how well fungal extracts degrade plantmaterialbyaddingachemicalthatchangescolorinthepresenceoftheproductsderivedfromcellulosebreakingdown.Themoredegradation,themoreintensethecolorchange.Theresearchersgreatlyincreasedtherateofscreeningbyusing96-wellplates toperform the reactions; rather thanputtingeach extract in an individual tube, they handled 96 samples in one3-by-5-inchplasticdish.“Wecancollectdatafrom10,000samplesinaweek,”saidKing.

The rapid screening was first developed on a small scale to optimizethetechniqueforlargesamplenumbers.

“Before we can screen these thousands of isolates,we had to havea standardizedm e t h o d o l o g ytha t we hopew i l l c a p t u r ethe potential ofthesefungi,”saidGibson. King iscurrently usingthis technologyto screen dozensmorefungiinaneffort to identifythe best species,or combinationof species, fordegradingavarietyofplantmaterials.

Other researchers in the study includeGaryBergstrom,professorofplantpathologyandplant-microbeinteractions,andLarryWalker,professorofbiologicalandenvironmentalengineering.

The study was supported in part by Cornell, the U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture--AgricultureResearchService,andtheNewYorkStateFoundationforScience,TechnologyandInnovation.

Graduate student Sarah Perdue is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.

Graduate students Marie Donnelly and Brian King pipet the chemical DNS solution into 9�-well plates.

Improved test screens fungal pests for biofuel sources

Fungal extracts were added to a 9�-well plate containing DNS, which changes color in the presence of cellulose breakdown products. The darker wells indicate extracts that broke down more cellulose; the lighter wells indicate extracts with little or no cellulose breakdown.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 22

In The NewsBy Anne Ju and Lauren Gold, Cornell ChronicleApril 1�, 2009

AfteryearsofcarefulstewardshipbyCornellscientists,acollectionofmorethan2,000speciesofnativeChinese

fungi,spiritedoutofthecountryforsafetybeforeWorldWarII, is finally set to make its way home.

On April 13, a delegation of Chinese government officials, ledbyStateCouncilorLiuYandong,visitedcampustobegintheprocessofrepatriatingthefungitoChina.ThespecimensarenotonlyareminderofChina’sbiodiversity,butalsoofthelegacyofS.C.Teng,aCornellstudent-turned-pioneering-scientist who risked his life during war to keep the fungisafe.

At a ceremony inWeill Hall, President David Skortonpresented Liu with a letter of intent explaining Cornell’s lengthyeffortstoreturnthefungi.

“Thefungiwillbecarefullypreparedanddocumentedincomingmonths,sowecanaccomplishthesaferepatriationof this important collection on my next visit to Beijing at a mutuallyagreedupontime,”Skortonsaid.

Liu,ahigh-rankingpoliticianinthePeople’sRepublicofChinaandamemberofitsPoliticalBureau,calledCornell’sefforts“ademonstrationofthefriendshipofyouruniversitytowardtheChinesepeople.”

She and Skorton elaboratedon Cornell’s many connectionswithChinaoverseveraldecades.Liu,whosefather-in-lawreceivedhisPh.D.fromCornellin1937,describedhowhehadtraveledfor15daysin1934togettocampusandbeginhisstudies.

“The shepherd boy realizedhisdreamofbecomingaPh.D.,”Liusaid.

In a gift exchange at the end of the ceremony, Skorton presented Liu with a bound copy of her father-in-law’sdissertation,publishedin1937ontheagricultureofcotton.TheChinese delegation gave Skorton an ornately carved box.

Liu and other delegates from the Chinese government,including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry ofScienceandTechnology,spentthedaytouringthecampusandmeetingwithCornell leaders, includingSusanHenry,deanoftheCollegeofAgricultureandLifeSciences,andStephenKresovich,viceprovostforlifesciences.

Cornell’s Plant Pathology Herbarium has been hometo thefungifornearly70years.During the1920s,CornellmycologygraduatestudentTengleftCornellforChinabefore

completinghisPh.D.toconductpioneeringbiologicalsurveysby horseback. He, along with others, collected and classified thousandsoffungiintheirnativeChina.

AftertheJapaneseinvadedChinain1937,Tengshipped2,000 specimens to safety at Cornell in 1940, where theyremain today.The specimens that remained in China weredestroyedduringWorldWarII.

“Thespecimensareimpressiveinthemselves,butmoresodue to their poignant history and the personal sacrifices made byMr.Tengandhisfamilytosavethemfromdestruction,”saidSkortonduringhisremarks.

Accordingtoa2005PlantPathologyNewsletterarticlebyKathieHodge,assistantprofessorofmycologyanddirectorof the Plant Pathology Herbarium, Teng and his familymemberswerepersecutedandtorturedduringChina’sCulturalRevolution,whichbeganin1966andlastedforadecade,andmanyofTeng’sunpublishedmanuscriptsweredestroyed.

After his death in 1970, Teng’s family recovered themanuscriptofhisgreatestworkinprogress--abookonthefungi of China. His daughter, Rosalie Deng, worked withRichardP.Korf,professoremeritusofmycologyanddirectoremeritusofthePlantPathologyHerbarium,tocompletethebook,whichwaspublishedin1996.ItwastheverycollectionoffungispecimensthatTengoriginallysenttoCornellthatvouchedformuchoftheworkdescribedinthebook,accordingtoHodge’sarticle.

Cornell’scollectionincludesmanytypesofspecimens--the first of their kind to be collected and scientifically identified asrepresentativesoftheirspecies.

“ThesespecimensareinvaluableforChinesemycologiststohave availableso they candocumenttheirown currentflora and gainsome insighti n t o w h a tconditionswereatthetimetheywerecollected,”Korf explained. “Manyofthesecollectionareasno longer exist inChina.”

Liu Yandong reacts to a gift from President Skorton, a copy of her father-in-law’s dissertation, during the fungi repatriation ceremony. Jason Koski/University Photography

Chinese delegation visits campus to reclaim historic fungi collection after 70-year Cornell stewardship

An exhibit set up in Weill Hall shows specimens from Cornell’s Chinese fungi collection and a picture of S.C. Teng, the Cornell graduate student and scientist who shipped 2,000 specimens to Cornell for safekeeping in 19�0. Jason Koski/University Photography.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 2�

By Chris Bentley, Cornell Chronicle, July 1�, 2009

It has been a dismal two decades for the 450-year-oldFlorida citrus industry: On top of the constant pressure

from hurricanes, a citrus canker epidemic shrank U.S.citrus production by roughly one-third in the 1990s,despiteaneradicationcampaignbytheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture.

Nowarecentlyintroduceddiseaseknownascitrusgreening,which,inthewordsofaUSDAentomologist,causesjuicefrominfected fruit to “taste like jet fuel mixed with Vicks VapoRub,” threatens tobe themostdevastatingblowyet fordomesticcitrus production. The search for a solution has broughtresearchersfrom aroundt h e w o r l dtogether in arace to savea t r o u b l e dindustry,withthe CollegeofAgriculturea n d L i f eS c i e n c e s( C A L S )e x p o r t i n g i t s “ l o c a le x p e r t i s e i n g e n o m eanalysis and bioinformatics,” according to plant pathologyseniorresearchassociateMagdalenLindeberg.

WhilethepathogenresponsibleisbelievedtobeavarietyofabacteriumcalledCandidatus Liberibacter,scientistshavebeen unable to conclusively determine the cause of citrusgreeningbecausethebacteriumcannotberoutinelyculturedindependentfromitshost,asmallinsectknownasapsyllid.

To get around these issues, CALS scientists are usingan advanced method for sequence analysis -- known asmetagenomics--toidentifytheCa.LiberibacterDNAfroma genetically mixed population of environmental samples. Researchersarealsolookingtosimilarbacteriathatcausezebrachipdisease--namedforthedarkstriationsitcreatesinchipsmadefrominfectedpotatoes--asanalternativeapproachforunderstandingCa.Liberibacter’sbasicbiology.

“Thereareanumberofgroupswhoarebasicallycompetingtotrytocultureitandgetthecompletegenomicsequence,”saidDavidSchneider,aUSDA-AgriculturalResearchService(ARS) scientist and adjunct associate professor of plantpathologyatCornell.Still, he said, this classoforganisms

is not well understood, so the mechanisms of virulencearenotknown.“Without thatbasicknowledge, it’shard toproceed.”

Onceapsylliddeliversthebacteriumintoacitrusplant,infected trees may not show symptoms for years. Beforedyingearly,treeswithcitrusgreeningwillproducemisshapen,undersizedgreenfruitwithouteconomicvalue.

Meanwhile, the psyllid continues to spread as far as Texas andLouisiana,andmostrecentlytosouthernCalifornia.Thedisease was first identified in China -- where it is know as Huanglongbing--duringthe1920sandwaslikelyintroducedto the U.S. via international transport of small ornamentalplantsduringthe1990s.

“Genome analysis methods developed at CALS aretransferrabletomany,manysystems,”Lindebergsaid.“Ithinkthepotential for improveddiagnosticswillbeofparticularinterest in developing countries.” Lindeberg will attend anannualmeetingof theAmericanPhytopathologicalSocietyinAugustforaspecialsessiononcitrusgreeningwithguestspeakersfromaroundtheworld.

In the fight against citrus greening, orchard management problems are proving to be a substantial obstacle. Privatecitrus growers facing bankruptcy have abandoned tens ofthousands of acres of land in recent years. Lindeberg saidthese“feralorchards”actaspetridishesforCa.Liberibacter.“Ifahurricanegoes through, itbasicallyblasts theorchardalloverthestate.”

While the abandonedorchards areprivatelyowned andthus difficult to manage, Cornell scientists, in partnership with othernationaluniversities,hopetoproducecultivarsresistantto citrus greening that may stop the spread of the diseasebeforeitistoolate.“Weareverymuchatthestartofatruecollaborationperiod,”Lindebergsaid.

Author Chris Bentley ‘10 is a student intern with CALS Communications.

In The NewsCALS genomicists aim to save citrus from ‘greening’

Magdalen Lindeberg, senior research associate in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is coordinating bioinformatic analyses of the genome sequence of the citrus greening pathogen that is devastating the Florida citrus industry. Photo by Chris Bentley

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 2�

The Scientist: George HudlerBy Jade Tabony, The Cornell Daily SunApril 22, 2009

Some college students discover their passions at a ripeyoungageandbegintheircollegeeducationwithzealand

direction, while others spend their college years stumblingthrough different fields of study until they find their career path. Departmentchairandteacherofthepopularcourse“MagicalMushrooms, Mysterious Molds,” Dr. George Hudler, plantpathology,belongstothelattergroup.

InCloquet,MN,Hudlerdiscoveredhisloveforfungiasasenior.HebeganhisundergraduatestudiesattheUniversityofMinnesota as an engineer, transferring first to physics and later English, before finally settling into the forestry major.

Itwasn’tuntilhetookarequiredcourseinforestpathologythathediscoveredhisloveforfungi.“Quitefrankly,Ididn’tevenknowwhat forestpathologywasat the time,”Hudlerjoked.“ItwasjustlikeamomentinmylifewhenIwasjustreadytobegrabbedbysomebodywhowasreallyenthusiasticaboutwhattheyweredoingandIjustwalkedoutofthatlectureandIthought‘Thiswasreallyinteresting.Ican’twaitforthenext class.’ And I’m sad to say that that is one of the few times inmycollegecareerthatIhadthathappen.”

AftercompletinghisB.S.degreeinForestManagementandthenanM.S.degreeinPlantPathologyfromtheUniversityofMinnesota,HudlerwasawardedaPh.D.inPlantPathologyfromColoradoStateUniversityin1976.HejoinedCornellUniversity as part of the Cornell Extension program, doing researchinplantpathologyoncommontreediseasesoftheNortheast.

SincearrivingatCornellUniversity,HudlerhasconductedresearchwiththeNortheasternPlantDiagnosticNetworkonamyriadofdifferenttypesoffungal-causedplantdiseases.These researchprojects arise from tree tissue samples sentin fromconcernedcitizensand range from thecommercialChristmas tree diseases in theAdirondacks, to the tar spotfungusinIthaca,tohismostrecentproject,thefatalbleedingcankeronEuropeanbeechtrees.

“EversinceI’vebeenatCornell,periodicallyIwouldgeta call from someone who was absolutely frantic about thehealthoftheirEuropeanBeechtree,”Hudlersaid.“SoIwouldgodownandIwouldlookatthetree,andthebarkwouldbepeeledoffalmostallthewayaround.Thetreewasalmostdead.Bythetimetheycalledmetherewouldbeallkindsofinsectsand microorganisms and you couldn’t decide what came first andwhatcausedit.”

Considering thatasingleEuropeanbeech treecanraisepropertyvaluesbyuptoseveralhundredthousanddollars,itisnowonderthatHudler’scallerswerefrantic.

By chance, Hudler found the cause six years ago while

visitingadyingEuropeanbeechtreeonLongIsland.Whilethetreeinquestionhadpassedthepointofnoreturn,HudlernoticedaconditiononliveEuropeanbeechtreesamere100feetawayknownasbleedingcankers.

The bleeding canker is caused by several species ofPhytophthora fungiandhasahistoryofcausingdisease inmanydifferentspeciesoftreesandshrubs.Thefunguscausesthedeathoftissuebydisruptingthewatertransportsystemwithintheinfectedtree.

“Once we realized that fungus was in the early stagesof this, we set out to figure out, first of all, is this some new diseasefromoverseasorhasitalwaysbeenaround,”Hudlersaid,addingthattheEuropeanbeechtreeitselfwasanimportedspecies.“Ifithadalwaysbeenaround,whyisitbad?Whyisitcausingthiskindofproblemonsometreesnow?”

SincethediseasehadbeenfoundontreesinLongIsland,concernthatthefungusspecieswasinvasivedeepenedduetothefactthatmostimportedtreediseasesenterthroughNewYork,theprimaryhumanimmigrationentryport.However,afterseveralyearsofresearchatCornell,Hudlerandhisteamnotonlydeterminedthatthefunguswasinfactdomestic,butalsosuccessfullyfoundacurefortreesinearlystagesofthedisease: spraying the tree with the very natural and benign phosphoricacid.

“The phosphoric acid has two effects,” Hudler explained. “First,itkillsthefungusthat’sinthebarkanditalsotriggerskind of a whole tree defense reaction. It’s almost like animmune response. So even though we are treating thisparticularorganism,ifsomeinsecttriestofeedontheleavesorsomeotherdiseasetriestogetin,theydon’thaveasmuchluck.”

ThankstoDr.Hudlerandhisteamatthediagnosticclinic,plant care professionals throughout the Northeast are nowabletospotthebleedingcankerdiseaseonEuropeanbeechtreesinitsearlystagesandtreatit,withoutusingharmfulorcontaminatingpesticides.Thediseasecanbespottedearlyonbytheappearanceofblack“bleeding”spotsonthebarknearthebaseofthetree.Thistreatmentisreadilywelcomedduetothefactthat40percentofEuropeanbeechtreeshavethisdisease,includingafewtreesontheCornellcampus.

Hudlerhasmovedontotwonewresearchprojectsafterhis success with the European beech tree. The first project is focusedonpreventingthespreadofanOakWiltdiseasefoundaroundAlbany.Thesecondprojectisconcernedwithdiseasesthat attack willow trees currently being grown for biofuel.Thesewillowtreescouldprovetobecommerciallyimportantasanewfuelsource,eitheraswoodchipsorfermentedwithyeasttomakeethanol.

Ultimately, Hudler’s passion for plant pathology lies inthe ability to benefit society directly through his research. “The whole thing about plant pathology that has attractedmyattentionfromdayoneisthatpeopledoingresearch,forthemostpart,wereworkingondiseaseproblemsthatweredirectlyaffectingfarmersandtheresultsoftheirworkhaveanimmediateimpactonthequalityofcrops,qualityoflifeingeneral.ThatreallyappealedtomethatIcouldhavethatkindofanimpactonwhatevergroupofpeopleorwhateverindustryIwasworkingwith.”

In The News

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 25

Robert E. Davis (PhD 1967)

Robert E. Davis, of Crofton, MD was inducted intothe Science Hall of Fame of the USDA-Agricultural

ResearchService(ARS)inSeptember2008.Heisaresearchscientist,memberof theSeniorScientistResearchService,and Leader of the USDA’s Molecular Plant PathologyLaboratoryinBeltsville,MD.Hediscoveredandcoinedthetermspiroplasmasandphytoplasmas,anothergroupofwall-lessbacteria.ForoutstandingcontributionsinresearchhehasreceivedtheAmericanPhytopathologicalSociety(APS)RuthAllenAwardandtheDistinguishedServiceAwardfromAPSPotomac Division;ARS 1997 Outstanding Scientist of theYearAward;USDA’sSilverPlowAward;U.S.PresidentialRankAward of Distinguished Senior Professional; QiluFriendshipAward from Shandong Provincial Government,China; and Medal of the Knight’s Cross, State Decorationfrom the President of the Republic of Lithuanian. He is aFellowoftheAmericanPhytopathologicalSociety,FellowoftheWashingtonAcademyofSciences,FellowoftheAmericanAssociation for theAdvancement of Science (AAAS), andmemberoftheNationalAcademyofSciencesUSA.

Roger Beachy

Dr.RogerBeachy, formerPostdoctoralScientist inMiltZaitlin'slab,wasrecentlyappointedbyPresidentBarack

ObamatoleadtheNationalInstituteofFoodandAgriculture(NIFA), an agency with the USDA. NIFA's mission “is tostimulateandfundtheresearchandtechnologicalinnovationsthat will enhance and makeAmerican agriculture moreproductive and environmentally sustainable while ensuringtheeconomicviabilityofagricultureandproduction.”

Alumni News

Plant Pathology Photo Lab Web Site

Checkouttheimages,moviesandusefultipsonthiswebpage!Useful,funandinteresting

http://www.plantpath.cornell.edu/PhotoLab/Default.htm

Image CollectionsPictureofthemonth–TimeLapseMovies–

BoroscopeImagesPhotography Tips

Studioandlighting–Digitalphotography–MakingObjectVRs–MakingPanoramas

Departmental and University Web Sites of InterestPlantPathology&Plant-MicrobeBiologywww.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/

PlantDiseaseDiagnosticClinicplantclinic.cornell.edu/Default.htm

CornellMushroomBlogblog.mycology.cornell.edu/

Branching Out Newsletterbranchingout.cornell.edu/

Extension Publicationspppmb.cals.cornell.edu/cals/plpath/outreach/extpub.cfm

CUPHerbariumwww.plantpath.cornell.edu/CUPpages/CUP.html

CUPPhotographCollectionodell.mannlib.cornell.edu/cupp/catalog/

DepartmentPhotoLabwww.plantpath.cornell.edu/PhotoLab/Default.htm

FacultyWebPageswww.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/cals/plpath/directory/faculty-menu.cfm

GlossaryofTechnicalTermswww.plantpath.cornell.edu/Glossary/Glossary.htm

InternationalAgriculturewww.cals.cornell.edu/cals/plpath/about/international-ag.cfm

Smokin’DocThurston’sGreatestHitshttp://www.tropag-fieldtrip.cornell.edu/docthurston/smokinhome.html

ChristmasTreePestswww.plantpath.cornell.edu/trees/TreePests.html

VegetableDiseasevegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/

NecrologyMartin Harrison

MartinHarrison,analumandemeritusfacultymemberinourdepartmentpassedawayonSeptember11,2008.

Martywasborn inBrooklyn,NYin1924,attendedpublicschoolinNewYorkCity,thengraduatedfromCornellwithaB.S.in1950.HewenttoKansasStateUniversitywherehereceivedanM.S.in1951,followedbyaPh.D.fromCornellin1955.Immediatelythereafter,Dr.HarrisonjoinedourfacultyandwasassignedtotheNematodeResearchLaboratoryatSeaford,thenFarmingdale.OnLongIsland,Martywasonthefrontlinesofthebattlewiththegoldennematodeand-together with mentor, Bill Mai – made significant headway in slowingthespreadofthepathogen.Intheearly1970s,MartymovedtotheIthacacampuswhereheoversawactivitiesinthenematodediagnosticlaboratoryandassistedinteachingplantnematology.Heretiredin1987andspenttherestofhislifeenjoyingthesurfandsandofcoastalCalifornia.

Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 2�

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Alumni Newsletter 2009, Vol. 51 Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology Cornell University—Page 2�

Opportunities in Plant PathologyTheCollegeofAgricultureandLifeScienceshasevolvedfrom

beingastate-supportedinstitutiontobeingstate-assisted.Because less and less of our financial support now comes from

NewYorkState,privatesupporthasbecomeevenmoreimportant.TheDepartmentofPlantPathologyandPlant-MicrobeBiologyinIthacais

buildingseveralendowmentfundstosupportitsfutureactivities.Yourcontributionstoanyofthesefundswillbegreatlyvalued.

Graduate Student FundThe Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology and society in general have benefited immeasurably from previous support for graduateeducation.EarlyinthehistoryoftheDepartment,theagriculture industry provided graduate assistantshipsto support investigations important to agriculture inNewYork.Later,majorresponsibilityforthissupportcame from New York State. Reduced funding fromNewYorkStatehasseverelyaffectedthedepartmentalsupport for graduate students. Continued excellence ofthegraduateprograminPlantPathologyandPlant-Microbe Biology at Cornell will be greatly assistedthroughtheGraduateStudentFund.Giftsofanysizeare appreciated and enable the brightest minds andmostdedicatedindividualstoworkandstudyinplantpathologyandplant-microbebiology.

Plant Pathology Excellence FundIncome from this endowment fund will be used tofacilitateimportantprojectswhichotherwisewouldbeimpossible. For example, the fund will help deserving students present their thesis results at a scientific meeting;itwillfacilitatethedevelopmentofteachingaids; and it will aid graduate student research inunfundedareasbyaugmenting funding for suppliesandsmallequipmentitems.

Name ______________________________________Address _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Telephone __________________________________

Please send form to: Dept.ofPlantPathology&Plant-MicrobeBiology334PlantScienceBldgCornellUniversityIthaca,NY14853

Plant Pathology Excellence Fund Pledge $ ___________/yr Contribution $ ___________

Plant Pathology Graduate Student Fund Pledge $ ___________/yr Contribution $ ___________ Other gift $ ___________

nameD gift opportUnities

Graduate Fellowships Fullsupport $300,000 Partialsupport $50,000

Cornell Plant Pathology Pledge/Contribution Form