Maria del Mar Jimenez Gasco, Ph.D.

Areas of Interest

Population biology of plant pathogens; Evolution of pathogenicity and virulence; Ecology of soilborne fungal pathogens; Endophytic interactions; Antifungal materials

Program Interests

My research group focuses on the population biology of plant pathogenic organisms and the relationship between population genetics and epidemiology.  We use molecular tools to study population-level evolutionary processes, mainly in plant-pathogenic organisms, and link them to traits of interest such as pathogenicity, virulence or emergence of fungicide and antibiotic resistance. Our ultimate goal is to understand how these traits arise and evolve in pathogen populations.

I am mainly interested in soilborne pathogens, in particular fungi that cause vascular wilts, such as Verticillium species and Fusarium oxysporum formae speciales. Verticillium dahliae causes Verticillium wilt of hundreds of herbaceous and woody crops. Recent studies indicate that some components of the pathogen populations appear to be adapted or even specialized to cause disease in particular crops, thus populations may be host adapted. We are developing molecular tools to study host adaptation of V. dahliae populations. Another soilborne fungal system that we study is the  Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris/ Chickpea pathosystem. My previous research indicated that the evolution of pathogenic races in F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris has followed a stepwise mutation model. We are now trying to validate that model through a collaboration with Prof. Rafael Jimenez-Diaz and his group at the University of Cordoba, and the Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (IAS-CSIC) in Cordoba, Spain.



TEACHING:

PPATH 505: Fundamentals of Phytopathology

PPATH 120: The Fungal Jungle: A Mycological Safari from Truffles to Slime Molds

Selected Publications:

Jimenez-Díaz, R.M. Cirulli, M., Bubici, G., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., Antoniou, P.P. and Tjamos, E.C. 2012. Verticillium Wilt: A Major Threat to Olive Production. Current Status and Future Prospects for its Management. Plant Disease 96: 304-329 [Feature Article].

Geib, S.M., Scully, E.D., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., Carlson, J.E., Tien, M., and Hoover, K. 2012. Phylogenetic analysis of Fusarium solani associated with the Asian Longhorned Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis. Insects 3: 141-160. [Special Issue, Symbiosis: A Source of Evolutionary Innovation in Insects].

Garzón, C.D., Molineros, J.E., Yánez, J.M., Flores, F.J., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., and Moorman, G.W. 2011. Sublethal doses of mefenoxam enhance Pythium damping-off of geranium. Plant Disease 95: 1233-1238.

Berbegal, M., Garzón, C., Ortega, A., Armengol, J., Jiménez-Díaz, R.M. and Jimenez-Gasco, M.M. 2011. Development and application of new molecular markers for analysis of genetic diversity in Verticillium dahliae populations. Plant Pathology 60: 866-877.

Jiménez-Díaz, R.M., Olivares-García, C., Landa, B.B., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., and Navas-Cortés, J.A. 2011. Region-wide analysis of genetic diversity in Verticillium dahliae populations infecting olive in Andalusia and agricultural factors influencing the distribution and prevalence of vegetative compatibility groups and pathotypes. Phytopathology 101:304-315.

Cirulli, M., Bubici, G., Amenduni, M., Armengol, J., Berbegal, M., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M. and Jimenez-Diaz, R.M. 2010. Verticillium wilt: A threat to artichoke production. Plant Disease 94: 1176-1187 [Feature Article].

Rodriguez Estrada, A. E., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M. and Royse, D. J. 2010. Molecular phylogeny of the Pleurotus eryngii species complex based on partial tef1 and RPB2 genes. Fungal Biology 114: 421-428.

Berbegal, M., Ortega, A., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., Olivares-García, C., Jiménez-Díaz, R. M., and Armengol, J. 2010. Genetic diversity and host range of Verticillium dahliae isolates from artichoke and other vegetable crops in eastern-central Spain. Plant Disease 94: 396-404.

Rodriguez Estrada, A. E., Lee, H.-J., Beelman, R.B., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M. and Royse, D. J. 2009. Enhancement of the antioxidants ergothioneine and selenium in Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii basidiomata through cultural practices. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 25: 1597–1607.

Rodriguez Estrada, A. E., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M. and Royse, D. J. 2009.  Improvement of yield of Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii by substrate supplementation and use of a casing overlay. Bioresource Technology 100: 5270–5276.

Geib, S.M., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., Carlson, J.E., Tien, M., and Hoover, K. 2009.  Effect of host tree species on cellulase activity and bacterial community composition in the gut of larval Anoplophora glabripennis. Environmental Entomology 38: 686-699.

Geib, S.M., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., Carlson, J.E., Tien, M., Jabbour, R. and Hoover, K. 2009.  Microbial community profiling to investigate transmission of bacteria between life stages of the wood-boring beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis. Microbial Ecology 58:199–211

Geib, S.M., Filley, T.R., Hatcher, P.G., Hoover, K., Carlson, J.E., Jimenez-Gasco, M.M., Nakagawa-Izumi, A., Sleighter, R.L., and Tien, M. 2008. Lignin degradation in wood-feeding insects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105: 12932-12937.

Elmer, W.H., Daughtrey, M., Rane, K., and Jimenez-Gasco, M. M. 2007. First Report of Fusarium wilt of Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ caused by Fusarium oxysporum in a Midwestern nursery. Plant Disease 91:1519.

Landa, B. B., Navas-Cortes, J. A., Jimenez-Gasco, M. M., Katan,  J., Retig, B., and Jimenez-Díaz, R. M. 2006. Temperature response of chickpea cultivars to races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, causal agent of Fusarium wilt. Plant Disease 90:365-374.

Jimenez-Gasco, M. M., Navas-Cortes, J. A., and Jimenez-Diaz,  R. M. 2004. The Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris / Cicer arietinum pathosystem: a case study of the evolution of plant-pathogenic fungi into races and pathotypes. International Microbiology 7: 95-104.

Geiser, D. M., Jimenez-Gasco, M. M., Kang, S., Makalowska, I. , Veerarahavan, N., Ward, T. J. Zhang, N., Kuldau, G. A., and O'Donnell, K. 2004. FUSARIUM-ID v.1.0: A DNA sequence database for identifying Fusarium. European Journal of Plant Pathology 110: 473-479.

Jimenez-Gasco, M. M., Milgroom, M. G., and Jimenez-Diaz,  R. M. 2004. Stepwise evolution of races in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris inferred from fingerprinting with repetitive DNA sequences.  Phytopathology 94: 228-235.

Jimenez-Gasco, M. M., Jimenez-Diaz, R. M. 2003. Development of a specific PCR-based assay for the identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris and its pathogenic races 0, 1A, 5, and 6. Phytopathology 93: 200-209.

Jimenez-Gasco, M. M., Milgroom, M. G., and Jimenez-Diaz,  R. M. 2002. Gene genealogies support Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris as a monophyletic group. Plant Pathology 51: 72-77.

Jimenez-Gasco, M. M., Perez-Artes, E., Jimenez-Diaz, R. M. 2001. Identification of pathogenic races 0, 1B/C, 5, and 6 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp ciceris with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). European Journal of Plant Pathology 107: 237-248.