PPEM Seminar Series: Mankanwal Goraya (Esker and Roman-Reyna Lab Ph.D. Student)

Abstract: Most host-pathogen studies focus on single pathogen-host interactions and their impact on plant health. Similarly, the plant disease diagnosis is often based on detecting a single dominant pathogen. However, these approaches overlook that in nature, multiple pathogens coexist, and more than one pathogen can affect the host crop by causing disease complexes. Effective management of disease complexes requires an integrated framework linking pathogen ecology, functional genomics, and efficient diagnostics. The Potato Early Dying disease complex (PED) is an example of this gap, associated with significant losses caused by synergistic interactions between Verticillium dahliae and other multi-domain soilborne pathogens. My research focuses on understanding V. dahliae interactions with other pathogens, including root lesion nematode, Pratylenchus neglectus, and Pectobacterium spp. A preliminary greenhouse study shows co-inoculations of potato by V. dahliae and P. neglectus, as well as V. dahliae and P. carotovorum, accelerated symptom development as compared to single-pathogen inoculations. Results provide evidence of potential interactions of V. dahliae with P. neglectus and Pectobacterium spp. Additional greenhouse experiments will explore characterizing co-infection symptoms on potato, pathogen temporal dynamics within host, and shifts in plant defense gene expression for understanding ecological and physiological interactions. To further resolve bacterial contributions to PED, genomic analyses of emerging soft rot–associated species such as P. punjabense reveal a conserved system dominated only by Type II secretion system (T2SS). This suggests ecological strategies of P. punjabense distinct from other soft-rot pathogens and highlight the importance of species-level functional differentiation, and potential of differential interactions among Pectobacterium species with V. dahliae. Translating these ecological insights into applied management tools, my research also integrates nanopore-based adaptive sequencing to enable broad, sequence-based detection of multiple potato pathogens, alongside rapid multiplex pathogen detection assays. These diagnostic assays will be validated in collaboration with Penn State’s Plant Disease Clinic and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Plant Pathology Laboratory. Collectively, my research willadvance knowledge in understanding PED disease ecology and improve disease diagnosis for better PED management. 

Bio: Mankanwal Goraya is a dual- title Ph.D. Candidate in Plant Pathology and Microbiome Sciences at Pennsylvania State University, co-advised by Drs. Paul Esker and Veronica Roman-Reyna. Her research investigates the complex pathogen-pathogen interactions causing Potato Early Dying Disease complex (PED). She is also integrating microbiome-based insights with the development of multiplex diagnostic assays to provide comprehensive tools for the detection and management of PED and other potato diseases. Prior to her doctoral studies, she received her M.S. in Plant Pathology from North Dakota State University under the guidance of Dr. Guiping Yan. Her M.S. research focused on identification of plant-parasitic nematode species, evaluating the reproductive rates of nematodes, and the development of molecular detection tools. Mankanwal earned her B.S. in Agriculture Honors from Punjab Agricultural University, majoring in Plant Protection. In the long-term, she is dedicated to integrating microbial ecology and disease detection for sustainable disease management and enhancing crop resilience.