Expertise

Area of Interest: Ecology and Evolution of Plant-Pathogen Interactions

My research program focuses on advancing the fundamental understanding of dynamics of host- pathogen interactions and finding ways to integrate this knowledge to better manage plant diseases. I am also interested in understanding how ecological factors shape the outcome of plant-pathogen interactions.

Some of the research questions that we are interested in include: how diverse are plant-associated microbes and specifically pathogens? What factors influence this diversity and the pathogen variation? How does diversity influence overall plant health? How do community level interactions in rhizosphere / phyllosphere influence overall fate of the pathogen?  What mechanisms diverse pathogenic bacteria use to specialize on a common host? How do some acquire infectivity on a new host?

Our research program is exploring the dynamics of host-pathogen arms-race by studying multi-trophic interactions of a pathogen with the resident microflora, the environment and the host.

Research Areas:

  • Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant pathogens 
  • Unraveling the diversity of plant-associated saprophytic/non-pathogenic bacteria and their role in plant health and plant-pathogen interactions
  • Understanding patho-adaptation strategies of a bacterial pathogen
  • Microbial community interactions in the rhizosphere and/phyllosphere

Areas: Bacterial Diversity, Microbial Communities

Past Affiliations
Communities
Plant Pathology, Entomology
Degrees
PhD, University of Florida, Plant Pathology, 2011
MS, University of Pune, India, Microbiology, 2007
BS, University of Pune, India, Microbiology, 2005
Keywords
area studies natural and physical sciences, mathematics and technology bacteriology microbiology life sciences