Plant-Microbe Interactions

Our researchers study the entire continuum of plant-associated microbes, from those that cause disease to those that are essential for plant productivity, notably through nitrogen-fixation. We use both classical and cutting-edge tools to investigate the molecular mechanisms of these interactions to address foundational scientific questions in model systems as well as applied settings. In addition to studying focal interactions between plants and microbes, we also have expertise in biocontrol and microbial community ecology. The relevance of our work is enhanced by WSU’s unique multi-campus system and the close integration of WSU faculty with the USDA-ARS programs in Soil Health <I can’t find a link to the official USDA page for this group… tim/linda do you have a suggestion?> and Grain Legume Genetics Physiology Research <https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/pullman-wa/grain-legume-genetics-physiology-research/>.

Faculty in this research area include:

Weidong Chen
Interactions between legume hosts and fungal pathogens, molecular mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis, fungal effectors that mediate host response to infection

Maren L. Friesen
Biological nitrogen-fixation, evolutionary ecology, population genomics, mathematical modeling.

Cynthia Gleason
Plant parasitic nematodes, root-know nematodes, interactions with host plants.

Lee Hadwiger
Molecular biology of plant disease resistance; plant gene regulation by elicitors from fungi and bacteria.

Scot Hulbert
Molecular genetics and evolution of the interactions between pathogens and plants.

Michael Kahn
Nitrogen fixation; interactions between plant and bacterial metabolism to support symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Patricia Okubara
Host molecular responses to beneficial and pathogenic soil microbes; molecular diagnoses of and host resistance to soilborne pathogens.

Hanu R. Pappu
Virus genomics and proteomics, plant-virus interactions, molecular epidemiology, crop biotechnology/virus resistant transgenic plants.

John Peters
Fundamental electron transfer reactions relevant to energy and agriculture
Kiwamu Tanaka
Molecular plant-microbe interactions and plant innate immunity

Linda S. Thomashow
Genetics, biochemistry and physiology of plant-microbe interactions; plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria; rhizosphere microbiology and ecology; mechanisms of gene regulation and expression; microbial genomics.