Jari S Sugano
Researcher
Department of Plant & Environmental Protection Sciences
University of Hawaii
United States of America
Biography
Ph.D. 2005, Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University
Research Interest
My lab is interested in dissecting the molecular basis specifying pathogen virulence and plant resistance in order to develop novel disease control strategies. We mainly focus on vegetable and fruit diseases caused by fungi and oomycetes. Our current research involves two oomycete pathogens Phytophthora palmivora and Peronospora belbahrii, and one fungal pathogen Corynespora cassiicola. Peronospora belbahrii is an obligate biotrophic pathogen that causes basil downy mildew, a foliar disease threatening sweet basil production worldwide. Phytophthora palmivora has a very broad host range with over 1000 plant species, including many economically important hosts such as papaya, cacao, rubber tree, citrus, coconut and black pepper. Corynespora cassiicola is known as a pathogen of many important agricultural crops, such as cucumber, tomato, papaya, soybean and cowpea. We are using various genetic, genomic, molecular, biochemical and plant pathology approaches in our research with an ultimate goal to develop novel effective environmental friendly disease control strategies. In addition to basic research, we are also interested in translational and applied research to translate discoveries from basic science to practical disease control measures.
Publications
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Khunjan U., Ekchaweng K., Panrat T., Tian M., and Churngchow N. (2016) Molecular cloning of HbPR-1 gene from rubber tree, expression of HbPR-1 gene in Nicotiana benthamiana and its inhibition of Phytophthora palmivora. PLoS One. 2016 Jun 23;11(6):e0157591.
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Wu D., Navet N., Liu Y., Uchida J. and Tian M.* (2016) Establishment of a simple and efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for Phytophthora palmivora. BMC Microbiology, 16: 204 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-016-0825-1 (http://bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12866-016-0825-1) (*Corresponding author)
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Ekchaweng K., Evangelisti E., Schornack S., Tian M.* and Churngchow N*. (2017) The plant defense and pathogen counterdefense mediated by Hevea brasiliensis serine protease HbSPA and Phytophthora palmivora extracellular protease inhibitor PpEPI10. PLoS One. 2017 May 1;12(5):e0175795. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175795. (*Corresponding author)
