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
