Cristina Rosa, Ph.D.

Cristina Rosa joined the faculty of the Plant Pathology Department at the Pennsylvania State University in January 2014. She obtained a B.S. at the Universita' di Firenze, Italy, a Ph. D. in Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis, and worked as a postdoctoral scholar in Plant Pathology at UC Davis and the Entomology Department at the Pennsylvania State University. She worked on different biological systems, such as the use of RNA interference to control the glassy winged sharpshooter, vector of Pierce's disease of grapevines, the investigation of the entry of nucleopolyhedroviruses into their caterpillar host epithelial gut cells, the characterization of grapevine viruses and of Elm Yellows disease, and the interactions between insect gut endosymbionts and plant defenses. The purpose of her research is to study the complex interaction between plant viruses and other microbes, plants, and insect vectors in agricultural and natural ecosystems.

Publications

Perea-López, N., J.F. Iturralde, C. Vosburg, E. Rajotte, C. Rosa, and M. Terrones. 2024. Effective Plant Virus Enrichment Using Carbon Nanotubes and Microfluidics. Journal of Virological Methods, p.114905.

Iturralde Martinez, J.F., C. Rosa. 2023. Reverse transcriptase recombinase polymerase amplification for detection of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus from crude plant extracts. Scientific Reports, 13(1), p.9024. 

Wu, B., A. Cox, H. Chang, M.J. Kennett, C. Rosa, S. Chopra, S. Li, L. Reddivari. 2023. Maize near-isogenic lines with enhanced flavonoids alleviated dextran sodium sulfate-induced murine colitis via modulation of the gut microbiota. Food & Function. DOI:10.1039/D3FO02953K

Hameed, A., C. Rosa, C.A. O’Donnell, E.G. Rajotte. 2023. Ecological Interactions among Thrips, Soybean Plants, and Soybean Vein Necrosis Virus in Pennsylvania, USA. Viruses, 15(8):1766.

Islam, M.T., M. Sain, C. Stark, M. Fefer, J. Liu, T. Hoare, W. Ckurshumova, C. Rosa. 2023. Overview of methods and considerations for the photodynamic inactivation of microorganisms for agricultural applications. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, pp.1-12.

Hameed, A., J.M. Ulmer, I. Miko, I., C. Rosa, E.G. Rajotte. 2022. Morphology of the Female Reproductive System of the Soybean Thrips, Neohydatothrips variabilis (Beach, 1896)(Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Insects, 13(7), p.566.

Hameed, A., C. Rosa, E.G. Rajotte. 2022. 'A Review on Ecology of Interactions in Soybean Vein Necrosis Orthotospovirus (SVNV): Plants, Vectors, Virus Dispersal and Management Perspectives', in J. C. Jimenez-Lopez, & A. Clemente (Eds.), Legumes Research - Volume 1. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102423

Ozber, N., P. Margaria, C.T. Anderson, M. Turina, C. Rosa. 2022. Sorting motifs target the movement protein of ourmia melon virus to the trans-Golgi network and plasmodesmata. Frontiers in Virology. Sec. Women In Fundamental Virology: 2022 2. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fviro.2022.934011

Islam, M.T., C. Kudla-Williams, S. Kar, J.P.  Londo, M. Centinari, M., C. Rosa. 2022. Deciphering genome-wide transcriptomic changes in grapevines heavily infested by spotted lanternflies. Frontiers in Insect Science, Sec. Invasive Insect Species, Focus on Spotted Lanternfly 2,27.

Hameed, A., C. Rosa, E.G. Rajotte. 2022. The Effect of Species Soybean Vein Necrosis Orthotospovirus (SVNV) on Life Table Parameters of Its Vector, Soybean Thrips (Neohydatothrips variabilis Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Insects, 13, 632.

Islam, M.T., K. Ng, M. Fefer, J. Liu, J., W. Uddin, W. Ckurshumova, W. C. Rosa. 2022. Photosensitizer to the rescue: in planta and field application of photodynamic inactivation against plant pathogenic bacteria. Plant Disease, (ja).

Fearer, C.J., A, Malacrinò, C. Rosa, P. Bonello. 2022. Phytobiome Metabarcoding: A Tool to Help Identify Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Causal Agents of Undiagnosed Tree Diseases. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, NJ), 2536, pp.347-366.

Porras, M.F., A. Malacrino, C. An, K. Hian Seng, O. Socheath, G. Norton, S. Miller, C. Rosa, E. Rajotte, M. O'Rourke. 2022. An integrated pest management program outperforms conventional practices for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in Cambodia. Plant Health Progress, https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-09-21-0123-RS

Rosa, C. Virus-Resistant Crops and Trees. In: Ricroch, A., Chopra, S. and Kuntz, M. eds., 2021. Plant biotechnology: experience and future prospects. Springer Nature.

Chiapello, M.F., L. Bosco, M. Ciuffo, S. Ottati, N. Salem, C. Rosa, L. Tavella, M. Turina. 2021. Complexity and local specificity of the virome associated with tospovirus-transmitting thrips species. Journal of Virology, pp.JVI-00597

Islam, M.T., W. Ckurshumova, M. Fefer, J. Liu, W. Uddin, C. Rosa. 2021. A plant based modified biostimulant (Copper Chlorophyllin), mediates defense response in Arabidopsis thaliana under salinity stress. Plants, 10, 625.

Ewing, C.J., J. Slot, M.-S. Benitez Ponce, C. Rosa, A. Malacrinò, A. Bennett, P. Bonello. 2021. The foliar microbiome suggests fungal and bacterial agents may be involved in the beech leaf disease pathosystem. Phytobiomes Journal. 5, 335-349. 

Hinshaw, C., K.C. Evans, C. Rosa, M.M. López-Uribe. 2021. The role of pathogen dynamics and immune gene expression in the survival of feral honey bees. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 8, 505.

Klee, S., J.P. Sinn, E. Christian, A. Holmes, K. Zhao, B.L. Lehman, K.A. Peter, C. Rosa, T.W. McNellis. 2020. Virulence genetics of an Erwinia amylovora putative polysaccharide transporter family member. Journal of Bacteriology. 202 (22) e00390-20; DOI: 10.1128/JB.00390-20.

Ray, M.A., D.L. Lopez, J.F.I. Martinez, D.A. Galbraith, R. Rose, D. Van Engelsdorp, C. Rosa, J.D. Evans, C.M. Grozinger. 2020. Distribution of recently identified bee-infecting viruses in managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations in the USA. Apidologie (2020).

Zhao, K., C. Rosa. 2020. Thrips as the Transmission Bottleneck for Mixed Infection of Two Orthotospoviruses. Plants, 9, 509.

Nahar, M.S., N. Naher, M.J. Alam, M.J. Hussain, L. Yasmin, M.Y. Mian, S.A. Miller, C. Rosa. 2019. Survey, morphology and white mold disease of country bean (Lablab purpureus L.) caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary in-relation to soil physico-chemical properties and weather conditions in Bangladesh. Crop Protection. doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2019.05.019.

Tan, C.W., M. Peiffer, K. Hoover, C. Rosa, G.W. Felton. 2019. Parasitic Wasp Mediates Plant Perception of Insect Herbivores. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 45 (11-12), 972-981.

Iturralde Martinez, J.F., C. Rosa. 2019. In-situ detection of Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus from crude plant extracts using Reverse Transcriptase- Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RT-RPA) in endpoint and real-time. bioRxiv doi.org/10.1101/720623.

Ozber, N., P. Margaria, M. Turina, C.T. Anderson, C. Rosa. 2019. Dissecting the intercellular trafficking of the movement protein of Ourmia melon virus. bioRxiv doi.org/10.1101/724716.

Walls III, J.T.,  E.G. Rajotte, C. Rosa. 2019. The Past, Present, and Future of Barley Yellow Dwarf Management. Agriculture, 9, 23.

Rosa C., Y.-W. Kuo, H. Wuriyanghan, B.W. Falk. 2018. RNA interference mechanisms and applications in plant pathology. Annual Review of Phytopathology 56 (1), 581-610.

Galbraith, D.A., Z.L. Fuller, A.M. Ray, A. Brockmann, M.Frazier, M.W. Gikungu, J.F.I. Martinez, K.M. Kapheim, J.T. Kerby, S.D. Kocher and Losyev, O., E. Muli, H. M. Patch, C. Rosa, J. M. Sakamoto, S. Stanley, A. D. Vaudo, C. M. Grozinger. 2018. Investigating the viral ecology of global bee communities with high-throughput metagenomics. Scientific reports, 8 (1), 8879.

Zhao, K., P. Margaria, C. Rosa. 2018. Characterization of the first complete genome sequence of an Impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus isolate from the United States and worldwide phylogenetic analyses of INSV isolates. BMC Research Notes. 11,288.

Tan, C.-W., M. Peiffer, K. Hoover, C. Rosa, F.E. Acevedo, G.W. Felton. 2018. Symbiotic polydnavirus of a parasite manipulates caterpillar and plant immunity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (20), 5199-5204.

Flower, C.E., N. Hayes-Plazolles, J.M. Slavicek, C. Rosa. 2018. First Report of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii'-Related Strain of 16SrVI-A Phytoplasma Subgroup, Associated with Elm Yellows Disease in American Elm (Ulmus americana L.) in Ohio, USA. Plant Disease. 102 (2),438.

Mason, C.J., N. Nagachar, D.C. Long, E.M. McCarthy, C. Rosa, E.D. Scully, M. Tieng, K. Hoover. 2017. Within gut physicochemical variation does not correspond to distinct resident fungal and bacterial communities in the tree-killing xylophage, Anoplophora glabripennis. Journal of Insect Physiology. 102, 27-35.

Flower, C.E., N. Hayes-Plazolles, C. Rosa, J.M. Slavicek. 2017. Elm yellows: a widespread and overlooked killer of elm trees across the United States. In: Pinchot, Cornelia C.; Knight, Kathleen S.; Haugen, Linda M.; Flower, Charles E.; Slavicek, James M., eds. Proceedings of the American elm restoration workshop 2016; 2016 October 25-27; Lewis Center, OH. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-174. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 68-72.

Rosa, C., P. Margaria, S. Geib, E D. Scully. 2017. Novel insights into the elm yellows phytoplasma genome and into the metagenome of elm yellows-infected elms. In: Pinchot, Cornelia C.; Knight, Kathleen S.; Haugen, Linda M.; Flower, Charles E.; Slavicek, James M., eds. Proceedings of the American elm restoration workshop 2016; 2016 October 25-27; Lewis Center, OH. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-174. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 49-67.

Wang, J., M. Peiffer, C. Rosa, K. Hoover, R. Zeng, G.W. Felton. 2017. Helicoverpa zea gut-associated bacteria indirectly induce defenses in tomato through mediating salivary elicitor(s). New Phytologist. 214 (3), 1294-1306.

Shikano, I., C. Rosa, C.-W. Tan, G.W. Felton. 2017. Tritrophic Interactions: Microbe-Mediated Plant Effects on Insect Herbivores. Annual Review of Phytopathology. 55, 313-331.

Turina, M., B.I. Hillman, M. Rastgou, K. Izadpanah C. Rosa, ICTV consortium. 2017. ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Ourmiavirus. Journal of General Virology. 98, 129-130.

Chung, S.H., E.D. Scully, M. Peiffer, S.M. Geib, C. Rosa, K. Hoover, G.W. Felton. 2017. Host plant species determines symbiotic bacterial community mediating suppression of plant defenses. Scientific Reports 7:39690. doi: 10.1038/srep39690.

Acevedo, F.E., M. Peiffer, C.-W. Tan, B.A. Stanley, A. Stanley, J. Wang, A.G. Jones, K. Hoover, C. Rosa, D.S. Luthe, G.W. Felton. 2017. Fall armyworm-associated gut bacteria modulate plant defense responses. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 30 (2), 127-137.

Nikolaeva, E.V., R. Welliver, C. Rosa, T. Jones, K. Peter, S. Costanso, R.E. Davis. 2017. First report of apple (Malus domestica) as a host of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni' in the United States. Plant Disease 101 (2), 378.

Rosa, C., G.W. Moorman. 2016. Diseases of Geranium, p 1-33. In McGovern R.J., W.H. Elmer (ed), Handbook of Florists' Crops Diseases doi:10.1007/978-3-319-32374-9_34-1. Springer International Publishing, Cham.

Rosa, C., G.W. Moorman. 2016. Diseases of Begonia, p 1-18. In McGovern J.R., H.W. Elmer (ed), Handbook of Florists' Crops Diseases doi:10.1007/978-3-319-32374-9_30-1. Springer International Publishing, Cham.

Bertran, A., M. Ciuffo, P. Margaria, C. Rosa, R. Oliveira Resende, M. Turina. 2016. Host-specific accumulation and temperature effects on the generation of dimeric viral RNA species derived from the S-RNA of members of the Tospovirus genus. Journal of General Virology 97 (11), 3051-3062.

Walls III, J.T., P. Caciagli, J.F. Tooker, J.M. Russo, E.G. Rajotte, C. Rosa. 2016. Modeling the decision process for barley yellow dwarf management. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 127, 775-786.

Margaria, P., L. Miozzi, M. Ciuffo, C. Rosa, M.J. Axtell, H. Pappu, M. Turina. 2016. Comparison of small RNA profiles in Nicotiana benthamiana and Solanum lycopersicum infected by Polygonum ringspot tospovirus reveals host-specific responses to viral infection. Virus Research 211, 38-45.

Margaria, P., C.T. Anderson, M. Turina, C. Rosa. 2016. Identification of an ourmiavirus 30K movement protein amino acid residues involved in symptomatology, viral movement, subcellular localization and tubule formation. Molecular Plant Pathology 17, 1063–1079.

Zhao, K., P. Margaria, C. Rosa. 2016. First Report of the White clover mosaic virus and Turnip mosaic virus mixed infection on garlic mustard in Pennsylvania, United States. Plant Disease. 100 (4), 866.

Ayayee, P.A., T. Larsen, C. Rosa, G.W. Felton, J.G. Ferry, K. Hoover. 2016. Essential Amino Acid Supplementation by Gut Microbes of a Wood-Feeding Cerambycid. Environmental Entomology 19, (1), 66-73.

Margaria, P., and C. Rosa. 2015. First complete genome sequence of a tomato spotted wilt virus isolate from the United States and its relationship to other TSWV isolates of different geographic origin. Archives of Virology 160 (11), 2915-20.

Margaria, P., L. Miozzi, M. Ciuffo, C. Rosa, M.J. Axtell, H. Pappu, M. Turina. 2015. Small RNA profiles of wild-type and silencing suppressor-deficient tomato spotted wilt virus infected Nicotiana benthamiana. Virus Research 208 (2), 30-38.

Margaria, P., M. Ciuffo, C. Rosa, M. Turina. 2015. Evidence of a Tomato spotted wilt virus resistance-breaking strain originated through natural reassortment between two evolutionary-distinct isolates. Virus Research 196, 157-161.

Rosa, C. and B.W. Falk. 2014. Virus-resistant crops and trees. In Plant Biotechnology (pp. 155-168). Springer, Cham.

Ayayee, P., C. Rosa, J.G. Ferry, G. Felton, M. Saunders, K. Hoover. 2014. Gut microbes contribute to nitrogen provisioning in a wood-feeding cerambycid. Environ. Entomol. 43 (4), 903-912.

Rosa, C., E. McCarthy, K. Duong, G. Hoover, G. Moorman. 2014. First Report of the Spittlebug Lepyronia quadrangularis and the Leafhopper Latalus sp. as Vectors of the Elm Yellows Associated Phytoplasma, Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi in North America. Plant Disease 98 (1), 154.

Chung, S.H., C. Rosa, K. Hoover, D.S. Luthe, G.W. Felton. 2013. Colorado potato beetle manipulates plant defenses in local and systemic leaves. Plant signaling & behavior 8 (12), e27592.

Chung, S.H., C. Rosa, E.D. Scully, M. Peiffer, J.F. Tooker, K. Hoover, D.S. Luthe, G.W. Felton. 2013. Herbivore exploits orally secreted bacteria to suppress plant defenses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (39), 15728-15733.

Dohlen, C.D., U. Spaulding, K. Shields, N.P. Havill, C. Rosa, K. Hoover. 2013. Diversity of proteobacterial endosymbionts in hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae)(Hemiptera: Adelgidae) from its native and introduced range. Environmental microbiology 15 (7), 2043-2062.

Rosa, C., S.G. Kamita, B.W. Falk. 2012. RNA interference is induced in the glassy winged sharpshooter Homalodisca vitripennis by actin dsRNA. Pest management science 68 (7), 995-1002.

Wuriyanghan, H., C. Rosa, B.W. Falk. 2011. Oral delivery of double-stranded RNAs and siRNAs induces RNAi effects in the potato/tomato psyllid, Bactericerca cockerelli. PloS one 6 (11), e27736.

Rosa, C., J.F. Jimenez, P. Margaria, A. Rowhani. 2011. Symptomatology and Effects of Viruses Associated with Rugose Wood Complex on Growth of Four Different Rootstocks. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, ajev. 2011.10104.

Rosa, C., S.G. Kamita, H. Dequine, H. Wuriyanghan, J.A. Lindbo, B.W. Falk. 2010. RNAi effects on actin mRNAs in Homalodisca vitripennis cells. Journal of RNAi and gene silencing: an international journal of RNA and gene targeting research 6 (1), 361-366.

Sudarshana, M.R., S. Bandyopadhyay, C. Rosa, T.V. Suslow, L.J. Harris. 2008. Effects of static and variable storage temperatures on the survival and growth of Escherichia coli O157: H7 on prewashed bagged lettuce. Phytopathology 98 (6), S152-S152.

Margaria, P., C. Rosa, C. Marzachi, M. Turina, S. Palmano. 2007. Detection of Flavescence doree phytoplasma in grapevine by reverse-transcription PCR. Plant Disease 91 (11), 1496-1501.

Rosa, C., M. Polek, B.W. Falk, A. Rowhani. 2007. Improved efficiency for quantitative and qualitative indexing for Citrus tristeza virus and Citrus psorosis virus. Plant disease 91 (9), 1089-1095.

Gittins, J.R., T.K. Pellny, E.R. Hiles, C. Rosa, S. Biricolti, D.J. James. 2000. Transgene expression driven by heterologous ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small-subunit gene promoters in the vegetative tissues of apple (Malus pumila Mill.). Planta 210 (2), 232-240.

Bonfiglioli, R., N. Habili, C. Rosa, B. Symons. 1999. Viognier: Its viruses and its clonal identification. The Australian Grapegrower and Winemaker (424), 23-26.