Fungal and Oomycete Biology

• Genetics and Genomics
• Cell and Developmental Biology
• Systematics, Ecology and Evolution

The study of fungi and oomycetes has a special place in the history of plant pathology because so many of these organisms were identified first as plant pathogens, and the majority of plant pathogens are in these groups. Today we know that many fungi and oomycetes are not deleterious to plants, but in fact can be beneficial. The Field of Plant Pathology hosts a vibrant program that emphasizes the biology of fungi and oomycetes at all levels of biological organization.

Students in this program may conduct research on a wide variety of topics in fungal or oomycete biology. They may study fungi or oomycetes as pathogens (plant and insect pathogens), symbionts (mycorrhizal associations), or saprobes (including model laboratory organisms). In addition to four core courses in Plant Pathology, students in the Fungal and Oomycete Biology program typically take advanced courses in allied fields such as Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics and Development, and Genomics. Students graduate from the Fungal and Oomycete Biology Program exceptionally well prepared to teach courses in classical and contemporary fungal biology, and to engage in competitive research in a wide range of areas related to fungi and oomycetes.

Faculty affiliated with the Fungal and Oomycete Biology program

• Dr. Gary Bergstrom—Biology, epidemiology, and integrated management of diseases of wheat, corn, soybean, forage legumes, and biofuel feedstock crops.
  
  
• Dr. William Fry—Biology of oomycetes and management of disease they cause (with emphasis on Phytophthora infestans).
  
  
• Dr. Kathie Hodge—Systematics and ecology of pathogenic and symbiotic fungi, especially those that are pathogens of insects.  Director of the Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium.
  
  
• Dr. Kwangwon Lee—Characterizing light and clock regulations in fungi and their roles in pathogenic plant-microbe interactions using genomics, quantitative genetics and molecular biology tools.
  
  
• Dr. Michael Milgroom—Population biology and evolution of plant pathogens; the integration of population biology and plant disease epidemiology.
  
  
• Dr.Eric Nelson—Ecology and development of oomycetes in the spermosphere and rhizosphere with special emphasis on plant pathogenic Pythium species. Of special interest is understanding how microbial interactions and plant associations influence Pythium development and pathogenesis.
  
  
• Dr. Rebecca Nelson—The genetics of quantitative disease resistance; international agriculture. We currently focus on two diseases of maize that are important both in the US and in Africa: northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot.
  
  
• Dr. Teresa Pawlowska—Biology and evolution of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (phylum Glomeromycota)
  
  
• Dr. Gillian Turgeon—Genetics and molecular biology of fungal pathogens.