Seogchan Kang, Ph.D.

Areas of Interest

Plant-fungal pathogen interactions; Fungal genomics and informatics; Forensic tools for plant pathogens

Program Interests

The goal of my research program is to study plant-pathogen interactions at multiple levels, ranging from genes to ecosystems.

(A) Root pathogenesis/defense using Arabidopsis thaliana as a host: Be cause much of our current knowledge on the molecular basis of plant-fungal pathogen interactions has been derived from studies based on foliar pathogens, our understanding of soil-borne diseases lags considerably behind. My approach is to employ a diverse array of pathogens representing different infection strategies and tissue specificity so as to identify both general and pathogen-specific defense mechanisms in A. thaliana. Two soil-borne pathogens, Fusarium oxysporum and Verticillium dahliae, have been utilized in these studies. Members of the F. oxysporum species complex are the most common fungi in soil and consist of numerous pathogenic and non-pathogenic forms. Pathogenic members can be divided into many host specific forms (i.e., forma specialis = f. sp.) and collectively cause vascular wilt, damping-off, and root rot diseases in over 100 cultivated plant species. Rich strain resources (>1,000 isolates) in combination with well-established phylogenetic relationships within the species complex, nicely support studies on the evolutionary mechanisms underpinning host specialization. Verticillium dahliae also has a broad host range and causes vascular wilt, but unlike F. oxysporum, many isolates do not exhibit clear host specificity. The broad host ranges of F. oxysporum and V. dahliae make it possible to compare pathogenicity and defense mechanisms in diverse plant species.

We identified eight F. oxysporum isolates pathogenic to A. thaliana. Among 48 ecotypes infected with two of the isolates, substantial variation in resistance both within and between isolates was observed. Mechanisms of their interactions have been characterized using a combination of cytological, genetic, and metabolomics tools. Using two A. thaliana ecotypes, Cvi-0 (susceptible) and Gre-0 (resistant), three-dimensional, time-resolved data from individual infection sites by fluorescently-labeled fungal strains were obtained over several days without physical manipulation of infected plants (in collaboration with Dr. Kirk Czymmek at the University of Delaware). This technique allowed monitoring of fungal growth on the root surface and within the vascular tissue and observation of changes in root cells in response to fungal growth. Initial penetration occurred primarily in the meristematic region of primary and lateral roots and seems to require a mycelial mass for penetration (similar to quorum sensing in bacterial pathogens). The fungus appears to produce phytotoxin(s) that could effectively move to nearby cells and affect vacuolar membrane integrity and potentially induce host cell death.

(B) Mechanism and evolution of calcium signaling in fungi: All organisms employ an elaborate mechanism for translating external stimuli to specific cellular responses in order to preserve homeostasis in the short term and carry out orderly developmental changes in the long term.  Accordingly, this mechanism plays critical roles during organism-organism and organism-environment interactions and thus presents potential intervention sites for controlling pathogenic interactions and judiciously exploiting beneficial interactions.  A network of signaling pathways under the control of chemical messengers underpins this mechanism.  Among the messengers of eukaryotic cell signaling, Ca²⁺ is by far most versatile, regulating a plethora of cellular and developmental processes in organisms ranging from unicellular microbes to animals and plants.  The ubiquitous involvement of Ca²⁺ in eukaryotic cell signaling suggests that Ca²⁺ is an ancient cellular language.  Despite the essential role of Ca²⁺, the questions of how this simple language manages to deliver so many specific messages to intracellular machineries and how these machineries decipher Ca²⁺-encoded messages to express specific cellular and developmental responses still remain as a 'grand challenge' in biology.  We aim to address this grand challenge using fungi as a model in collaboration with Dr. Kirk Czymmek at University of Delaware. 

We expressed fluorescent protein-based Ca²⁺sensors in multiple fungal species and imaged temporal and spatial dynamics of [Ca²⁺]_c for hours without any evidence of change in growth rates, laser induced phototoxicity.  Our data showed for the first time that fungi convert external stimuli and developmental cues into specific spatial and temporal patterns of [Ca²⁺]_c pulses.  This technical breakthrough enabled us to characterize [Ca²⁺]_c signatures in response to mutation of specific genes and agents that disrupt Ca²⁺ signaling in fungi and to correlate changes in [Ca²⁺]_c signature to phenotype.  This work will help uncover the function and mode of action of Ca²⁺ signaling genes in controlling fungal pathogenesis at the level of complexity and resolution that has never been attempted.  The NSF Cellular Systems program currently supports this project.

(C) Cyber-infrastructure for Plant Pathogens (CiPP): The goals of CiPP are to integrate existing genotypic and phenotypic information on plant pathogens with important environmental variables, and to engage the global community of plant pathologists to use state-of-the-art data mining and visualization tools for the advancement of science, education, and outreach (Fig. 2). Our first and foremost reason for building CiPP is to collect and catalog biological information and materials for present and future use. Properly archiving accumulated data and materials in a format that can maximally support future research is as important as generating new data and materials. Because science builds on existing knowledge, failure to establish proper links between what has been done and what will be done is a poor scientific practice and frequently forces us to ‘reinvent the wheel.' Pathogen cultures often form the primary link that connects discoveries of the present with established knowledge of the past, facilitate comparisons of findings in different areas, and support pathogen forensics. The second motivation came from the realization that the full potential of pathogen genomics as a foundation for understanding and managing disease dynamics, hinges on how effectively we use genome sequence data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary and pathological potential and mechanisms within species.

The Phytophthora Database (http://www.phytophthoradb.org) is the first fruit of CiPP. Databases for Fusarium (http://isolate.fusariumdb.org/) and Pythium (http://www.pythiumdb.org) are also available on-line. Given increasing movements of pathogens via global agricultural trade, a pathogen monitoring system focused primarily on the United States would not be adequate. In collaboration with scientists in many parts of the world, we are building a global atlas of Phytophthora. In the long run, the database will support integration and utilization of data from diverse areas of research on Phytophthora, ranging from genomics, phylogenetics and population biology to epidemiology.

(D) Development of research tools and resources: We have developed experimental tools and resources that will help us study dynamic changes underlying plant-pathogen interactions at multiple levels, ranging from genes to whole organisms. One resource is the genome sequences of several fungal pathogens that, in combination with the genome sequences of host plants, will facilitate studies on their interactions from both the plant and pathogen sides. Another area of investment is the development of cytological tools for both plants and pathogens to study cell-to-cell communications within and between plant and pathogen throughout the disease cycle. These tools include FRET-based biosensors for Ca and cAMP, pH-sensitive GFP and an array of fluorescent markers for labeling fungi and plants. Transformants of A. thaliana , F. oxysporum , and M. oryzae with some of these sensors have been generated, which are currently being used to map cell-to-cell communications during various stages of pathogenesis/defense. A third resource is fungal gene manipulation tools via the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Publications (Since 2001)

Tzima, A., Paplomatas, E. J., Tsitsigiannis, D., and Kang, S. (2012) The G protein b-subunit controls virulence and multiple traits in Verticillium dahliae. Fungal Genetics & Biology in press.

Nikolaeva, E., Kang, S., Olson, T., and Kim, S. H. (2012) Real-time PCR detection of Rhodococcus fascians and discovery of potential new host plants for R. fascians in Pennsylvania. Plant Heath Progress in press.

O’Donnell, K., Humber, R. A., Geiser, D. M., Kang, S., Park, B., Robert, V. A. R. G., Crous, P. W., Johnston, P. R., Aoki, T., Rooney, A. P., and Rehner, S. A. (2012) Phylogenetic diversity of insecticolous fusaria inferred from multilocus DNA sequence data and their molecular identification via FUSARIUM-ID and Fusarium MLST. Mycologia in press.

Adams, E. L., Emerson, D., Croker, S., Kim, H., Kang, S., and Czymmek, C. (2012) Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM): A Tool for Studying Biophysical Surface Properties Underpinning Fungal Interactions with Plants and Substrates. Pp. 151-164. In: T. Bart and M. Bolton (eds.) Plant Fungal Pathogens: Methods and Protocols. Humana Press, Totowa.

Maruthachalam, K., Klosterman, S. J., Kang, S., and Subbarao, K. V. (2011) Identification of pathogenicity-related genes in the vascular wilt fungus Verticillium dahliae by Agrobacterium tumefaciens­-mediated T-DNA insertional mutagenesis. Molecular Biotechnology 49:209-221.

Klosterman, S. J., Subbarao, K. V., Kang, S., Veronese, P., Gold, S. E., Thomma, B. P. H. J. Chen, Z., Henrissat, B., Lee, Y.-H., Park, J., Garcia-Pedrajas, M. D., Barbara, D. J., Anchieta, A., de Jonge, R., Santhanam, P., Maruthachalam, K., Atallah, Z., Amyotte, S. G., Zahi P., Inderbitzin, P., Hayes, R. J., Heiman, D. I., Young, S., Zeng, Q., Engels, R., Koehrsen, M., Galagan, J., Birren, B., Cuomo, C., Dobinson, K. F., and Ma, L.-J. (2011) Verticillium comparative genomics yields insights into niche adaptation by plant vascular wilt pathogens. PLoS Pathogen 7(7): e1002137.

Kim, H.-S., Park, S.-Y., Lee, S., Adams, E. L., Czymmek, K., and Kang, S. (2011) Loss of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A affects multiple traits important for root pathogenesis by Fusarium oxysporum. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 24: 719-732.

Njoroge, S. M. C., Vallad, G. E., Park, S.-Y., Kang, S., Koike, S. T., Bolda, M., Burman, P., Polonik, W., and Subbarao, K. V. (2011) Phenological and phytostructural changes influence Verticillium dahliae interaction with broccoli and cauliflower. Phytopathology 101:523-534.

Park, B., Park, J., Cheong, K.-C., Choi, J., Jung, J., Lee, Y.-H., Wald, T. J., O’Donnell, K., Geiser, D. M., and Kang, S. (2011) Cyber-infrastructure for Fusarium (CiF): Three integrated platforms supporting strain identification, phylogenetics, comparative genomics, and knowledge sharing. Nucleic Acids Research (Database Issue) 39: D640-D646.

Tzima, A., Paplomatas, E. J., Rauyaree, P., Ospina-Giraldo, M. D., and Kang, S. (2011) VdSNF1, the sucrose non-fermenting protein kinase gene of Verticillium dahliae, is required for virulence and expression of genes involved in cell wall degradation. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 24: 129-142.

Park, S.-Y., Chi, M.-H., Kim, H., Milgroom, M. G., Han, S.-S., Kang, S., and Lee, Y.-H., (2010) Genetic stability of Magnaporthe oryzae isolates during successive passages through rice plant and artificial medium. Plant Pathology Journal 26: 313-32.

An, Y., Kang, S., Kim, K.-D., Hwang, B. K., and Jeun, Y. C. (2010) Enhanced defense responses of tomato plants against late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans by pre-inoculation with rhizobacteria. Crop Protection 29: 1406-1412.

O’Donnell, K., Sutton, D. A., Rinaldi^, M. G., Sarver, B. A. J., Balajee, A., Schroers, H.-J., Summerbell, R. C., Robert, V. A. R. G., Crous, P. W., Zhang, N., Aoki, T., Jung, K., Park, J., Lee, Y.-H., Kang, S., Park, B., and Geiser, D. M. (2010) An  Internet-Accessible DNA Sequence Database for Identification of Fusaria from Human and Animal Infections. J. Clinical Microbiology 48: 3708-3718.

Kang, S., Mansfield, M. A., Park, B., Geiser, D. M., Ivors, K. L., Coffey, M. D., Grunwald, N., Martin, F. N., Levesque, A., and Blair, J. E. (2010) The promise and pitfalls of sequence-based identification of plant pathogenic fungi and oomycetes. Phytopathology 100: 732-737.

Balmas, V., Migheli, Q., Schrm, B., Garau, P., O’Donnell, K., Ceccherelli, G., Kang, S., and Geiser, D. M. (2010) Multilocus phylogenetics show high levels of endemic fusaria inhabiting Sardinian soils (Tyrrhenian Islands). Mycologia 102: 803-812.

Khang, C.-H., Berruyer, R., Giraldo, M., Kankanala, P., Park, S.-Y., Czymmek, K., Kang, S., and Valent, B. (2010) Translocation of Magnaporthe oryzae Effectors into Rice Cells and Their Subsequent Cell-to-Cell Movement. Plant Cell 22: 1388-1403.

Kim, S. H., Olson, T. N., Peffer, N. D., Nikolaeva, E. V., Park, S.-Y., and Kang, S. (2010) First Report of Bacterial Spot of Tomato Caused by Xanthomonas gardneri in Pennsylvania. Plant Disease (Note) 94: 638.

Jin, J.-M., Lee, S., Lee, J., Baek, S.-R., Kim, J.-C., Yun, S.-H., Park, S.-Y., Kang, S., and Lee, Y.-W. (2010) Functional characterization and manipulation of the apicidin biosynthetic pathway in Fusarium semitectum. Mol. Microbiology 76: 456–466.

Tzima, A., Paplomatas, E. J., Rauyaree, P., and Kang, S. (2010) Roles of the catalytic subunit of cAMP dependent protein kinase A in virulence and development of the soilborne plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae. Fungal Genetics & Biology 47: 407-415.

Ma, L.-J., van der Does, H. C., Borkovich, K. A., Coleman, J. J., Daboussi, M.-J., Di Pietro, A., Dufresne, M., Freitag, M., Grabherr, M., Henrissat, B., Houterman, P. M., Kang, S., Shim, W.-B., Woloshuk, C., Xie, X., Xu, J.-R., Antonxiw, J., Baker, S. E., Bluhm, B. H., Breakspear, A., Brown, D. W., Butchko, R. A. E., Chapman, S., Coulson, R., Coutinho, P. M., Danchin, E. J. G., Diener, A., Gale, L. R., Gardiner, D. M., Goff , S., Hammond-Kosack, K. E., Hilburn, K., Houterman, P. M., Hua-Van, A., Jonkers, W., Kazan, K., Kodira, C. D., Koehrsen, M., Kumar, L., Lee, Y.-H., Li, L., Manners, J. M., Miranda-Saavedra, D., Mukherjee, M., Park, G., Park, J., Park, S.-Y., Proctor, R. H., Regev, A., Ruiz-Roldan, M. C., Sain, D., Sakthikumar, S., Sykes, S., Schwartz, D. C., Turgeon, B. G., Wapinski, I., Yoder, O., Young, S., Zeng, Q., Zhou, S., Galagan, J., Cuomo, C. A., Kistler, H. C., and Rep, M. (2010) Comparative genomics reveals mobile pathogenicity chromosomes in Fusarium oxysporum. Nature 464: 367-373.

Choi, J., Park, J., Kim, D., Jung, K., Kang, S., and Lee, Y.-H. (2010) Fungal Secretome Database (FSD): Integrated platform for annotation of fungal secretomes. BMC Genomics 11:105.

Lee, S.-W., Ahn, I.-P., Sim, S.-Y., Lee, S.-Y., Seo, M.-W., Kim, S., Park, S.-Y., Lee, Y.-H., and Kang, S. (2010) Pseudomonas sp. LSW25R, antagonistic to plant pathogens, promoted plant growth, and reduced blossom-end rot tomato fruits in a hydroponic system. Eur. J. Plant Pathology 126:1-11.

Marelli, J.-P., Maximova, S. N., Gramacho, K. J., Kang, S., and Guiltinan, M. J. (2009) Infection biology of  witches’ broom disease on Theobroma cacao and alternate solanaceous hosts: a comparative study. Tropical Plant Biology 2:149-169.

O’Donnell, K. Gueidan, C., Sink, S., Johnston, P. R., Crous, P. W., Glenn, A., Riley, R., Zitomer, N. C., Colyerr, P., Waalwijk, C., van der Lee, T., Moretti, A., Kang, S., Kim, H., Geiser, D. M., Juba, J. H., Baayen, R. P., Cromey, M. G., Bithell, S., Sutton, D. A., Skovgaard, K., Ploetz, R., Kistler, H. C., Elliott, M., Davis, M., and Sarver, B. A. J. (2009) A two-locus DNA sequence database for typing plant and human pathogens within the Fusarium oxysporum species complex. Fungal Genetics & Biology 46: 936–948.

Lee, W., Park, J., Choi, J., Park, B., Jung, K., Ahn, K., Kang, S., Lee, Y.-H., and Lee, S.  (2009) IMGD: an integrated platform supporting comparative genomics and phylogenetics of insect mitochondrial genomes. BMC Genomics 10:148.

Nikolaeva, E. V., Park, S.-Y., Kang, S., Olson, T. N., and Kim, S. H. (2009) Ratios of cells with and without virulence genes in Rhodococcus fascians populations correlate with degrees of symptom development. Plant Disease 93: 499-506.

Yi, M., Park, S.-Y., Khang, C., Kang, S., Valent, B, and Lee, Y.-H. (2009) The ER Chaperone MoLHS1 Plays Key Roles in Asexual Development and Pathogenesis in the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Plant Cell 21: 681-695.

Park, J., Jin, J., Lee, Y., Kang, S., and Lee, Y.-H. (2009) Rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe oryzae) infects Arabidopsis via a distinct mechanism from that required for the infection of rice. Plant Physiology 149: 474-486.

Jin, J., Baek, S., Lee, K., Lee, J., Yun, S., Kang, S., and Lee, Y.-W. (2008) Purification and evaluation of phytotoxicity of apicidins produced by the Fusarium semitectum KCTC16676. Plant Pathology Journal 4: 417-422.

Jung, K., Park, J., Choi, J., Park, B., Kim, S., Ahn, K., Choi, J., Choi, D., Kang, S., and Lee, Y. (2008) SNUGB: a versatile genome browser supporting comparative and functional fungal genomics. BMC Genomics 9:586.

Klimes, A., Amyotte, S., Grant, S., Kang, S. , and Dobinson, K. F. (2008) Microsclerotia development in Verticillium dahliae : regulation and differential expression of the hydrophobin gene VDH1. Fungal Genetics & Biology 45: 1525-1532.

Park, J., Lee, S., Choi, J., Ahn, K., Park, B., Lee, S., Kim, S., Park, B., Park, J., Kang, S. and Lee, Y. (2008) Fungal Cytochrome P450 Database. BMC Genomics 9:402.

Balci, Y., Balci, S., Blair, J. E., Park, S., Kang, S ., and MacDonald, W. (2008) Phytophthora quercetorum sp. nov., a novel species isolated from eastern and north-central US oak forest soils. Mycological Research 112: 906-916.

Park, J., Park, B., Veeraraghavan, N., Blair, J. E., Geiser, D. M., Isard, S., Mansfield, M. A., Nikolaeva, E., Park, S.-Y., Russo, J., Kim, S. H., Greene, M., Ivors, K. L., Balci, Y., Peiman, M., Erwin, D. C., Coffey, M. D., Jung, K., Lee, Y.-H., Rossman, A., Farr, D., Cline, E., Grünwald, N. J., Luster, D. G., Schrandt, J., Martin, F., Ribeiro, O. K., Makalowska, I., and Kang, S. (2008) Phytophthora Database: A forensic database supporting the identification and monitoring of Phytophthora. Plant Disease 92: 966-972.

Park, J., Park, J., Jang, S., Kim, S., Kong, S., Choi, J., Ahn, K., Kim, J., Lee, S., Kim, S., Park, B., Jung, K., Kim, S., Kang, S. and Lee, Y. (2008) FTFD: An informatics pipeline supporting phylogenomic analysis of fungal transcription factors . Bioinformatics 24: 1024-1025.

Khang, C., Park, S., Lee, Y., Valent, B., and Kang, S. (2008) Genome organization and evolution of the AVR-Pita avirulence gene family in the Magnaporthe grisea species complex. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 21: 658-670.

Park, J., Park, B., Jung, J., Jang , S., Yu, K., Kong, S., Park, S., Kim, S., Choi, J., Kim, H., Kim, S., Blair, J. E., Lee, K., Kang, S. and Lee, Y. (2008) CFGP: a Web-based, Comparative Fungal Genomics Platform. Nucleic Acid Research 36: D74-D81.

Park, S., Milgroom, M. G., Han, S. S., Kang, S., and Lee, Y. (2008) Genetic differentiation of Magnaporthe oryzae populations from scouting plots and commercial rice fields in Korea. Phytopathology 98: 436-442.

Blair, J. E., Coffey, M. D., Park, S.-Y., Geiser, D. M., and Kang, S. (2008) A multi-locus phylogeny for Phytophthora utilizing markers derived from complete pathogen genomes. Fungal Genetics & Biology 45:266-277.

Choi, J., Park, J., Jeon, J., Chi, M., Goh, J., Yoo, S., Park, J., Jung, K., Kim, H., Park, S., Rho , H., Kim, S., Kim, K., Han, S., Kang, S., and Lee, Y. (2007) Genome-wide analysis of T-DNA integration into the chromosomes of Magnaporthe oryzae. Molecular Microbiology 66: 371–382.

Czymmek, K., Fogg, M., Powell, D., Sweigard, J., Park, S., and Kang, S. (2007) Method for in vivo time-lapse documentation of Arabidopsis root-fungal pathogen interactions. Fungal Genetics & Biology 44: 1011-1023.

Irish, B., Goenaga, R., Park, S, and Kang, S. (2007) First Report of Phytophthora palmivora , Causal Agent of Black Pod, on Cacao in Puerto Rico. Plant Disease (Note). 91: 1051.

Jeon, J., Park, S., Chi, M., Choi, J., Park, J., Rho, H., Kim, S., Goh, J., Yoo, S., Choi, J., Park, J., Yi, M., Yang, S., Kwon, M., Han, S., Kim, B., Khang, C., Park, B., Lim, S., Jung, K., Kong, S., Karunakaran, M., Oh, H., Kim, H., Kim, S., Park, J., Kang, S., Choi, W., Kang, S., and Lee, Y. (2007) Genome-wide functional analysis of pathogenicity genes in rice blast fungus. Nature Genetics 39: 561-565.

Tosa, Y., Uddin, W., Viji, G., Kang, S., and Mayama, S. (2007) Comparative genetic analysis of Magnaporthe grisea isolates causing gray leaf spot of perennial ryegrass turf in the United States and Japan. Plant Disease 91:517-524.

Kang, S ., Blair, J. E., Geiser, D. M., Khang, C., Park, S., Gahegan, M., O'Donnell, K., Luster, D. G., Ivors, K. I., Kim, S. H., Lee, Y., Lee, Y., Grünwald, N. J., Martin, F. M., Coffey, M. D., Veeraraghavan, N. , and Makalowska, I. (2006) Plant pathogen culture collections: It takes a village to preserve these resources vital to the advancement of agricultural security and plant pathology. Phytopathology 96: 920-925.

Khang, C., Park, S., Rho , H., Lee, Y., and Kang, S. (2006) Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation and mutagenesis of filamentous fungi Magnaporthe grisea and Fusarium oxysporum. PP. 403-420, In: K. Wang (ed.) Agrobacterium Protocols. Humana Press, Totowa.

Ahn I. , Kim, S., Kang, S. , and Lee, Y. (2005) Rice defense mechanisms against Cochliobolus miyabeanus and Magnaporthe grisea are distinct. Phytopathology 95:1248-1255.

Rauyaree, P., Bhat, R. G., Ospina-Giraldo, M. D., Grant, S. J., Dobinson, K. F., Subbarao, K. V., and Kang , S. (2005) Mutations in VMK1, a mitogen-activated protein kinase gene, affect colony morphology, microsclerotia formation and pathogenicity in Verticillium dahliae. Current Genetics 48: 109-116.

Khang, C., Park, S., Lee, Y., and Kang, S. (2005) A dual selection based, targeted gene replacement tool for Magnaporthe grisea and Fusarium oxysporum. Fungal Genetics & Biology 42: 483-492.

Geiser, D. M., Jiménez-Gasco, M., Kang, S. , Makalowska, I., Veeraraghavan, 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 J. Plant Pathology 110: 473-479.

Dobinson, K. F., Grant, S. J., and Kang, S. (2004) Cloning and targeted disruption, via Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation, of a trypsin protease gene from the vascular wilt fungus Verticillium dahliae . Current Genetics 45:104-110.

Kang, S ., and Dobinson, K. (2003) Molecular and cellular basis of plant-fungal pathogen interactions. pp. 59-97 In: D. K. Arora and G. G. Khachatourians (eds.) Fungal Genomic and Bioinformatics. Elsevier Science, Dordrecht

Park, S., Milgroom, M. G., Han, S. S., Kang, S., and Lee, Y.-H. (2003) Diversity of pathotypes and DNA fingerprint haplotypes in populations of Magnaporthe grisea in Korea over two decades. Phytopathology 93: 1378-1385.

Ospina-Giraldo, M. D., Mullins, E. M., and Kang, S. (2003) Loss of function of the Fusarium oxysporum SNF1 gene reduces virulence on cabbage and Arabidopsis. Current Genetics 44: 49-57.

Gao, W., Khang, C., Park, S., Lee, Y., and Kang, S. (2002) Evolution and organization of a highly dynamic, subtelomeric helicase gene family in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. Genetics 162: 103-112.

Moorman, G. W., Kang , S. , Geiser, D. M., and Kim, S. (2002) Identification and characterization of Pythium species associated with greenhouse floral crops in Pennsylvania. Plant Disease 86: 1227-1231.

Ivors, K., Beyer, D., Wuest, P. J., and Kang, S. (2002) Survey of fungal diversity in mushroom compost using sequences of PCR-amplified genes encoding 18S ribosomal RNA. pp. 18-24 In: H. Insam, J. Feurle, S. Klammer, and N. Riddech (eds). Proceedings of the 1st Microbiology of Composting Symposium. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.

Kang, S ., Ayers, J. E., DeWolf, E. D., Geiser, D. M., Kuldau, G, Moorman, G. W., Mullins, E., Uddin, W., Correll, J. C., Deckert, G., Lee, Y. -H., Lee, Y. -W., Martin, F. N., and Subbarao, K. (2002) The Internet-based fungal pathogen database: A proposed model. Phytopathology 92: 232-236.

Kang, S . (2001) Organization and distribution pattern of MGLR-3, a novel retrotransposon in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. Fungal Genet. Biol. 32: 11-19.

Mullins, E., Romaine, P., Chen, X., Geiser, D. M., Raina, R., and Kang, S. (2001) Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation of Fusarium oxysporum: An efficient tool for insertional mutagenesis and gene transfer. Phytopathology 91: 173-180.

Kang, S ., Lebrun, M.-H., Farrall, L., and Valent, B. (2001) Gain of virulence caused by insertion of a Pot3 transposon in a Magnaporthe grisea avirulence gene. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 14: 671-674.

Viji, G. A., Wu, B., Kang , S. , Uddin, W., and Huff, D. R. (2001) Pyricularia grisea causing gray leaf spot (blast) of perennial ryegrass turf: Population structure and host specificity. Plant Dis. 85: 817-826.

Rho , H., Kang , S ., and Y. Lee (2001) Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation of the plant pathogenic fungus Magnaporthe grisea . Mol. Cells 12: 407-411.

Mullins, E. D., and Kang, S. (2001) Transformation: A tool for studying fungal pathogens of plants. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 58: 2043-2052.