Dr. Kendra Baumgartner

I am a grapevine pathologist with the USDA, located on the UC Davis campus. I run a research program in sustainable viticulture, which was established in 2000 by Congressional mandate. The purpose of the program is to develop effective and efficient control strategies for fungal diseases of grape. Basic research on pathogen biology and disease epidemiology is at the core of this mission. Research interests include: infection biology, population genetics, and host resistance to fungal pathogens that attack the permanent, woody structure of the vine.  Current focus is on Armillaria mellea, Eutypa lata, Phomopsis viticola, and various species of the Botryosphaeriaceae.  As some of these same taxa attack numerous fruit and nut crops, we collaborate with other ARS researchers in our Research Unit and UC researchers in projects on walnut, almond, stonefruits, and pistachio.

Selected publications:

Baumgartner K, Baker, BB, Korhonen K, Zhao J, Hughes KW, Bruhn J, Bowman TS, Bergemann SE. In press. Evidence of natural hybridization among homothallic members of the basidiomycete Armillaria mellea sensu stricto. Fungal Biology.

Travadon R, Smith ME, Fujiyoshi P, Douhan GW, Rizzo DM, Baumgartner K. In press. Inferring dispersal patterns of the generalist root fungus Armillaria mellea. New Phytologist.

Travadon R, Baumgartner K, Rolshausen PE, Gubler WD, Sosnowski M, Lecomte P, Halleen F, Peros J-P. 2012. Genetic structure of the fungal grapevine pathogen Eutypa lata from four continents. Plant Pathology: In press (DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-3059.2011.02496.X)

Baumgartner K, Coetzee MPA, Hoffmeister D. 2011. Secrets of the subterranean pathosystem of Armillaria. Molecular Plant Pathology 12: 515-534.

Petit E, Barriault E, Baumgartner K, Wilcox W, Rolshausen PE. 2011. Cylindrocarpon species associated with black-foot of grapevine in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 62: 177-183.

Baumgartner K, Fujiyoshi P, Foster GD, Bailey AM. 2010. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation for investigation of somatic recombination in the fungal pathogen Armillaria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 76: 7990-7996.

Blaedow KE, Baumgartner K, Cox KD, Schnabel G. 2010. Natural infection of an herbaceous host by Armillaria: a case study on Hemerocallis. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology 32:351-360.

Baumgartner K, Travadon R, Bruhn J, Bergemann S. 2010. Contrasting patterns of genetic diversity and population structure of Armillaria mellea sensu stricto in the eastern and western United States. Phytopathology 100:708-718.

Baumgartner K, Bhat R, Fujiyoshi P. 2010. A rapid infection assay for Armillaria and real-time PCR quantitation of the fungal biomass in planta. Fungal Biology 114:107-119.