Cynthia Gleason, Washington State University

Her seminar, both in-person and virtual, begins at 4:10 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 16 in 122 Briggs Hall.  The Zoom link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

Nematologist Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the host.

"Meloidogyne chitwoodi is a root-knot nematode often found in potato growing regions of Northwestern United States," Gleason says in her abstract. "It is a nematode that can infect both potato roots and tubers. In the case of tuber infections, it causes small pimple-like blemishes on the skin, giving the potato a rough, bumpy appearance. Unfortunately, there are no commercially available potato cultivars that are resistant to M. chitwoodi."

"The Gleason lab is undertaking several different lines of research to develop novel tools to combat these nematodes," she said. "For example, we characterize nematode effectors, which give us information about how the nematodes avoid or suppress the plant immune system. In addition, we are developing molecular markers to distinguish the different M. chitwoodi populations that differ in host range and virulence. On the plant side of the interaction, we are studying nematode resistance in potato, including resistance triggered by the potato defense elicitor called Pep1."

Gleason, who joined the WSU faculty in 2016, holds a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from UC Davis (2003).  She served as postdoctoral fellow, Disease and Stress Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich UK (2003-2006),  postdoctoral fellow, Plant Industry, CSIRO, Perth, Australia (2006-2010); and as junior professor in the Department of Plant Molecular Biology and Physiology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany (2011-2016).

From her WSU website: "My research centers around plant parasitic nematodes and primarily focuses on root-knot nematodes and their interactions with host plants. These small roundworms are soil borne pathogens that can infect most vascular plants. The root infections cause damage that affects water and nutrient uptake, and this can lead to dramatically reduced crop yields. In order to develop new strategies to combat nematodes, my group studies root-knot nematode secretions that are released into the plant and manipulate host defenses and signaling pathways. One focus of study is on the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne chitwoodi, a serious pathogen of potatoes in the region. We are interested in identifying novel M. chitwoodi pathogenicity genes required for successful potato infection. We are also working to dissect the defense responses triggered during infection of nematode-resistant potatoes. My lab uses a variety of experimental approaches, such as gene expression analyses, generation and characterization of transgenic plants, and heterologous expression of nematode genes in bacteria, to increase our knowledge of the plant/nematode interaction at the molecular level."

For further information on the seminars or to resolve any technical difficulties with Zoom, contact Meineke at ekmeineke@ucdavis.edu.