The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by:

Claudia Castro, PLPA Graduate Student 

Seminar Title: : “Lipopolysaccharide primes Vitis vinifera for enhanced defense against Xylella fastidiosa”

Biography: Claudia is a fifth year PhD candidate in Dr. Caroline Roper's lab where she studies the xylem-limited bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa. Her dissertation research covers plant defense priming in grapevine, X. fastidiosa exopolysaccharide production, and X. fastidiosa mechanosensing of flow. 

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Christopher Drozd, PLPA Graduate Student 

Seminar Title: “Mining the Microbiome: Marvelous Metabolites"

Biography: Christopher is a second year PhD student in Caroline Roper's lab. He studies how plant microbiomes can be engineered to promote plant health, with emphasis on the HLB-Citrus pathosystem.