Dilooshi Weerasooriya

JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

Weerasooriya, D.K.; Bandara, A.Y.; Liu, S.; Tesso, T.T. (2024). RNA-Seq Unveils Cross-Talk among Stress Response Mechanisms during Leaf Color Transformation in ALS Resistant Sorghums. Crops, 4, 348-365.

Duffeck, M. R., Bandara, A. Y., Weerasooriya, D. K., Collins, A. A., Jensen, P. J., Kuldau, G. A., Emerson M. Del Ponte and Esker, P. D. (2022). Fusarium head blight of small grains in Pennsylvania: Unravelling species diversity, toxin types, growth, and triazole sensitivity. Phytopathology, 112(4), 794-802.

Weerasooriya DK, Bandara AY, Dowell F and Tesso TT (2021). Growth, agronomic characteristics, and nutritional attributes of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) genotypes resistant to ALS inhibitor herbicides. Plant Breeding, 140(4), 603-617.

Bandara, A. Y., Weerasooriya, D. K., Bell, T. H., & Esker, P. D. (2021). Prospects of alleviating early planting‐associated cold susceptibility of soybean using microbes: New insights from microbiome analysis. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 207(2), 171-185.

Collins, A. A., Bandara, A. Y., May, S. R., Weerasooriya, D. K., and Esker, P. D. (2021). First report of tar spot of maize (Zea mays) caused by Phyllachora maydis in Pennsylvania. Plant Disease, 105(8), 2244.

Bandara, A. Y., Weerasooriya, D. K., Trexler, R. V., Bell, T. H., and Esker, P. D. (2021). Soybean Roots and Soil From High-and Low-Yielding Field Sites Have Different Microbiome Composition. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 675352.

Bandara, A. Y., Weerasooriya, D. K., Murillo‐Williams, A., White, C. M., Collins, A. A., Bell, T. H., & Esker, P. D. (2020). Relationship between soybean yield from high and low yielding field sites and selected soil characteristics. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment, 3(1), e20126.

Ananda Y. Bandara, Dilooshi K. Weerasooriya, Shawn P. Conley, Carl A. Bradley, Tom W. Allen, and Paul D. Esker (2020). Modeling the relationship between estimated fungicide use and disease-associated yield losses of soybean in the United States I: Foliar fungicides vs foliar diseases. PLoS ONE. 15(6): e0234390.

Weerasooriya DK, Gobena DD, Bandara AY, Dowell F, Peiris K, Bean S, Perumal R, Adee E, and Tesso T (2020). Performance of grain sorghum hybrids resistant to acetolactate Synthase (ALS) and acetyl coenzyme-A carboxylase inhibitor herbicides. Crop Science, 61(2), 896-916.

Ananda Y. Bandara, Dilooshi K. Weerasooriya, Carl A. Bradley, Tom W. Allen, and Paul D. Esker (2020). Dissecting the economic impact of soybean diseases in the United States over two decades. PLoS ONE. 15(4): e0231141.

Ananda Y. Bandara, Dilooshi K. Weerasooriya, Dereje D. Gobena, Daniel J. Hopper, Tesfaye T. Tesso, and Christopher R. Little (2020). Improving sweet sorghum for enhanced juice traits and biomass. Plant Breeding. 139:131–140.

Ananda Y. Bandara, Dilooshi K. Weerasooriya, Tesfaye T. Tesso, and Cristopher R. Little (2019). Stalk rot resistant sorghum genotypes are resilient to pathogen-mediated photosystem II quantum yield retardation. Crop Protection, 124, 104852.

Duressa, D., Weerasoriya, D., Bean, S. R., Tilley, M., and Tesso, T. (2018). Genetic basis of protein digestibility in grain sorghum. Crop Science, 58(6), 2183-2199.

Weerasooriya DK, Bean SR, Nugusu Y, Ioerger BP and Tesso TT (2018). The effect of genotype and traditional food processing methods on in-vitro protein digestibility and micronutrient profile of sorghum cooked products. PLoS ONE 13(9): e0203005

Bandara YMAY, Weerasooriya DK, Liu S and Little CR (2018). The necrotrophic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina promotes charcoal rot susceptibility in grain sorghum through induced host cell-wall-degrading enzymes. Phytopathology, 108(8), 948-956.

Maulana F, Weerasooriya D and Tesso T (2017). Sorghum bicolor landrace collections from cooler regions of the world exhibit magnificent genetic differentiation and early season cold tolerance. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8:756

Bandara YMAY, Weerasooriya DK, Tesso TT, Prasad PVV and Little CR (2017). Stalk rot fungi affect grain sorghum yield components in an inoculation stage-specific manner. Crop Protection. 94:97-105

Bandara YMAY, Weerasooriya DK, Tesfaye TT and Little CR. Stalk rot fungi affect leaf greenness (SPAD) of grain sorghum in a genotype- and growth stage-specific manner (2016). Plant Disease. 100(10): 2062-2068

Weerasooriya DK, Maulana FR, Bandara AY, Tirfessa A, Ayana A, Mengistu G, Nouh K and Tesso TT (2016). Genetic diversity and population structure among sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, L.) germplasm collections from Western Ethiopia. African Journal of Biotechnology, 15(23): 1147-1158

Bandara YMAY, Weerasooriya DK, Tesso TT and Little CR (2016). Stalk rot diseases impact sweet sorghum biofuel traits (2016). BioEnergy Research, 10 (1): 26–35

Weerasooriya, DK. (2016). Genetic analysis of interveinal chlorosis and reduced seedling vigor as related to agronomic performance in sorghum resistant to ALS inhibitor herbicides. K-REx. Kansas State University

Bandara YMAY, Weerasooriya WWRWMDK and Wickramasinghe HAM (2009). DNA fingerprinting and phylogenetic study of some Indica rice varieties using SSR markers. International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences. 3 (1): 1-6

Book Chapters

Tesso TT, Gobena DD, Duressa DO, Roozeboom K, Jagadish K, Perumal R, Serba DD and Weerasooriya DK. (2018).  Harnessing genetic/genomic resources to transform production and productivity of sorghum. In Achieving sustainable cultivation of sorghum Volume 1: Genetics, breeding and production techniques. (Ed.) B. Rooney. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Sawston, Cambridge, UK. ISBN-13: 9781786761200

Tesso TT, Weerasoriya DK, Al-Khatib K, Tuinstra MR, Gobena DD, Thompson C, Jugulam M and Perumal R. Herbicide Resistance: An Alternative Approach for Managing Post Emergence Weeds in Sorghum. Submitted - InTech. ISBN 978-953-51-5282-8

*First author of 44 conference publications

Journal Publications Under Review

Dilooshi Weerasooriya, Ananda Yapa Bandara, David Geiser and Paul Esker. Genetic diversity, pathogenicity, and geographical distribution of Fusarium spp. from soybean fields across Pennsylvania - in review process by co-authors.

Dilooshi Weerasooriya, Ananda Y. Bandara and Paul D. Esker. The Effectiveness of Seed-Applied Fungicide Use on Soybean Seedling Disease Management in Pennsylvania - in review process by co-authors.

Employment History

• Postdoctoral Fellow/Lab Manager, Dept. of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 2019 –Present
• Lab Manager, Dept. of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 2018 – 2019
• Postdoctoral research associate, Dept. of Agronomy, Kansas State University, 2016-2017 
• Visiting research scientist, USDA-ARS, Manhattan, KS, 2016-2017
• Graduate Research Assistant, Dept.  of Agronomy, Kansas State University, 2011 – 2016
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Agricultural Biology, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2009 - 2010
• Temporary Lecturer, Dept. of Agricultural Biology, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 2008 - 2009

Awards and Scholarships

• 2015 - First place, ACS528 Diversity poster competition, Intl. Annu. Meetings of ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 2015 - Third place, C09 Biomedical, Health-Beneficial & Nutritionally Enhanced Plants graduate student poster competition, Intl. Annu. Meetings of ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 2015 - Selected among top 10 presenters at the Research and the State poster competition to represent Kansas State University at the 13th Capitol Graduate Research Summit at Topeka, Kansas
• 2015 - Second place, graduate student interdisciplinary oral presentation competition at 20th K-State Annual Research Forum, Manhattan, Kansas
• 2014 - Second place, ACS528 Diversity poster competition, Intl. Annu. Meetings of ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Long Beach, California
• 2014 - Third place, C2 Crop physiology and metabolism graduate student poster competition, Intl. Annu. Meetings of ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Long Beach, California
• 2013 - Third place, ACS528 Diversity poster competition, Intl. Annu. Meetings of ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Tampa, Florida
• 2014 - Love of Learning Award, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
• 2015, 2016 - Don C. Warren Genetics Scholarship award, Kansas State University
• 2015 NIGMS Travel fellowship, Statistical Genetics and Genomics course, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• 2015 - Konza and Manhattan Rotary Clubs International Graduate Student Scholarship, Kansas State University
• 2015 - SICNA Scholarship, Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America
• 2015 - International Coordinating Council Scholarship, Kansas State University
• 2013, 2014 and 2015 - John H. Parker Scholarship, Kansas   State University
• 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 - The Graduate Student Council travel award, Kansas State University
• 2012 and 2014 - Dan M. Rodger's Scholarship, Kansas State University

Volunteer Work

• TissuLyser Trainer, Dept. of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 2021 - Current
• Safety Committee Member, Dept. of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 2021
• Social Committee Member, Dept. of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 2018 – 2020
• Judging panel - C08 division graduate student poster competition, Intl. Annu. Meetings of ASA, CSSA and SSSA - October 22-25, 2017, Tampa, Florida
• Judging panel - science fair projects, St. Xavier High School, Junction City, Kansas on January 22, 2013