01/23/2024

Peer-reviewed manuscripts:

Crandall, S.G. (Primary Author), Miles, A., Chung, T. Cloutier, M., Garcia-Rodriguez, R., Schweigkofler, W., & Couradeau, E. (2023). Temporal and spatial dynamics of bacterial and fungal microbiomes in nursery soils post-steam sterilization. PhytoFrontiers. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-07-22-0071-R. 

Frey T, Huo D, Medina Lopez M, Ritter BC, Lindsey L, Benitez Ponce MS. Fungal communities associated with corn in a diverse long-term crop rotation in Ohio. PhytoFrontiersTM 2023.

Hamilton R, Jacobs JL, McCoy AG, Kelly HM, Bradley C, Malvick D, Rojas JA, Chilvers MI. Multistate sensitivity monitoring of Fusarium virguliforme to the SDHI fungicides fluopyram and pydiflumetofen in the United States. Plant Disease. 2023 Dec 21(ja).

Helms KM, Dickson RW, Bertucci MB, Rojas AA, Gibson KE. Metal Micronutrient and Silicon Concentration Effects on Growth and Susceptibility to Pythium Root Rot for Hydroponic Lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Horticulturae. 2023; 9(6):670. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9060670

Larson, E. (Post-doctoral Scholar) & Crandall, S.G. (Corresponding Author). (2023). Recovery of the soil fungal microbiome after steam disinfection to manage the plant pathogen Fusarium solani. Frontiers in Plant Science. Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions. 14: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1128518.

Shrestha, B., Ward, B., Allen, T., Da Silva, E., Zulli, H., Dunford, W., Doyle, V., Bradley, C., Buckley, B., Chen, P., Clubb, M., Kelly, H., Koebernick, J., Padgett, G., Rupe, J., Sikora, E., Spurlock, T. N., Thomas-Sharma, S., Tolbert, A., Gen Zhou, X., Price, P. (2023). Characterization of QoI-fungicide resistance in Cercospora isolates associated with Cercospora leaf blight of soybean from the southern United States. Plant Disease.

https://doi.org/10.1094/pdis-03-23-0588-re

Mohan, K., Kontz, B., Allen, T., Bergstrom, G., Bissonette, K., Bonkowski, J., Bradley, C., Buck, J., Chilvers, M., Dorrance, A., Giesler, L., Kelly, H., Koehler, A., Lopez-Nicora, H., Mangel, D., Markell, S., Mueller, D., Price, P., Rojas, A., Shires, M., Smith, D., Spurlock, T. N., Webster, R., Wise, K., Yabwalo, D., Mathew, F. (2023). Variation in Isolate Virulence and Accession Resistance Associated with Diaporthe aspalathi, D. caulivora, and D. longicolla in Soybean. Plant Health Progress.

https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-04-23-0041-RS

Swenie RA, Looney BP, Ke YH, Alejandro Rojas J, Cubeta MA, Langer GJ, Vilgalys R, Brandon Matheny P. PacBio high‐throughput multi‐locus sequencing reveals high genetic diversity in mushroom‐forming fungi. Molecular Ecology Resources. 2024 Jan;24(1):e13885.

 

Conference presentations:

Melanie Medina López, Timothy I. Ralston, Horacio D. Lopez-Nicora, and Soledad Benitez Ponce. Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is associated with changes in fungal community composition in the agricultural soils of Ohio. ASM Microbe 2023. Houston, TX. June 2023.

Melanie Medina López. Soil dwelling nematodes as plant allies and adversaries. PPGSA Spring Symposium. Wooster, OH. May 2023.

Frey, T.S., D. Shah, L. Taylor, L. Lindsey, C. Sprunger, M.S. Benitez Ponce. Soybean yield, soil health and their relationships to microbial communities in rotations and a rye cover crop. American Phytopathological Society. August 2023, Denver, CO.

  

Oral presentations:

Benitez Ponce MS, Medina Lopez M, Huo D, Lindsey L, Guevara F, Frey T. Interacciones microbianas en ecosistemas agrícolas. Latinamerican Congress of Microbiology. August 2023.

Melanie Medina López, Timothy Ralston, Horacio D. López-Nicora and Soledad Benitez Ponce. Heterodera glycines is associated with shifts in fungal community composition in Ohio agricultural soils. Society of Nematologists annual meeting. Columbus, OH. July 2023.

Melanie Medina López, Timothy Ralston, Horacio D. López-Nicora and Soledad Benitez Ponce. Soybean cyst nematode infestation is associated with changes in fungal community composition in agricultural soils of Ohio. Midwest Microbiome Symposium. Columbus, OH. May 2023.

 

Extension and outreach presentations:

Melanie Medina López, Edwin D. Navarro. La microbiología en la producción agrícola. UPRM Microbiology Student Association webinar series. Online. February 2023.

 

Related grants:

Medina-Lopez, M. OSU, CFAES Internal Grant Graduate Program | $5,000 April 2023- October 2024 Title: Examining the Taxonomic Resolution of Long-Read Amplicon Sequencing of Fungal Barcoding Genes

Benitez Ponce, MS. Ohio Soybean Council. $26,000. August 2023 – July 2024. Title: Undergraduate Training through Characterization of Fungal Isolates from Soybean Fields in Ohio and their Interactions with the Soybean Cyst Nematodes.

Frey T, Benitez Ponce MS, Lopez Nicora H, Roth M. Ohio Soybean Council. $90,000. Soybean Root Sugars in Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN)-Fungal Interactions.

06/12/2025

Peer-reviewed manuscripts:

Roman-Reyna, V.☨, and Crandall, S.G☨. 2024. Seeing in the dark: a metagenomic approach can illuminate the drivers of plant disease. Frontiers in Plant Science Bioinformatics. 15:1-7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1405042. (☨ denotes equal contribution).

Harris, J.E., Bledsoe, R.B., Guha, S., Omari, H., Crandall, S.G., Burghardt, L.T., Couradeau, E.M. 2024. The activity of soil microbial taxa in the rhizosphere predicts the success of root colonization. Pre-print: bioRxiv 2024.12.07.627353;  https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.07.627353

Schill, M. L., Baird, R. E., Brown, S. P., Veach, A. (2024). Wildfire severity alters soil microbial exoenzyme production and fungal abundances in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Pedosphere, 34(4), 15. 

Brown, S., Shahrtash, M., Stokes, C. E., Baird, S. M., Baird, R., Lu, S. (2024). Model-based community analyses identify fungal endophytes that may modulate symptom development of charcoal rot disease in soybean. Phytofrontiers (Online Publication), 23. https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PHYTOFR-04-23-0052-SC 

Blandenjer, Q., Gibson, N., Tice, A., Jones, R., Jones, E., Baird, R., Zurweller, B., Brown, M.

2024 Full 18S metabarcoding of environmental samples of various substrates with Nanopore sequencing. Protocols.io Springer, dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.3byl4qe48vo5/v2 Online publication.

Rodriguez-Herrera, K. D., Vargas, A., Doyle, V. P., Price, P.P., Moseley, D., Thomas-Sharma, S. 2024. Development of a greenhouse assay to screen soybean varieties for resistance to aerial blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA. ‘Key Challenges’ focus issue, Phytopathology 114 (5): 1039-1049 (https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-10-23-0390-KC).

Riley D Messman, Rebecca M Swanson, Shankar Ganapathi Shanmugam, Caleb O Lemley, 333 Awardee Talk: Navigating the bovine neonatal microbiome: Insights into inoculation, maternal sources, and immunological influence, Journal of Animal Science, Volume 102, Issue Supplement_3, September 2024, Pages 58–59, https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae234.063 

Sinha, N., Rushing, B. R., Acharya, A., & Ganapathi Shanmugam, S. (2024). Effect of Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems on Soil Properties and Microbial Diversity in Soybean Production. Applied Biosciences, 3(4), 484-502. https://doi.org/10.3390/applbiosci3040031

Cato, A. J., McWhirt, A. L., and Rojas, A. 2024. Impact of Soil-Applied Thyme Oil on Strawberry Yield and Disease Abundance. International Journal of Fruit Science. 24:130–141.

Wolf R, Holland R, Rojas JA, Fernandes S, Fernandes I, Rupe JC. Assessing Soybean Cultivar Resistance to Target Spot Using a Detached Leaf Assay. PhytoFrontiers™. 2024 Dec 25;4(4):728-33.

Zaccaron M, Holland R, Gbur E, Thompson K, Rojas JA, Rupe JC. Effect of drought stress during seed development on charcoal rot and yield of soybean. Plant Disease. 2024 Nov 1;108(11):3258-68.

Li, X., Zaia, R., Liu, K., Xu, X., Silva, M.D., Rojas, A., Welbaum, G.E., Zhang, B. and Rideout, S., 2024. Response of the Edamame Germplasm to Early-Season Diseases in the United States. Agronomy, 14(8), p.1660.

Hamilton, R., Jacobs, J.L., McCoy, A.G., Kelly, H.M., Bradley, C.A., Malvick, D.K., Rojas, J.A. and Chilvers, M.I., 2024. Multistate Sensitivity Monitoring of Fusarium virguliforme to the SDHI Fungicides Fluopyram and Pydiflumetofen in the United States. Plant disease, 108(6), pp.1602-1611.

 

Oral presentations:

Benitez Ponce. MS. Plant bacteriology and agricultural microbiomes lab. Department Seminar Spotlight. Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Seminar. February 5, 2024.

Banson, I. (Author & Presenter), Jones, R. (Author), Blandenier, Q. (Author), Tice, A. (Author), Baird, R. E., Zurweller, B. (Author), Brown, M. E. (Author), (July 29, 2024). "Soil Protists: Probing the function of the forgotten predators in Agricultural Productivity." Oral Presentation. IPS-ISOP-ISEP Annual Meeting, International Society of Protistologists, University of Washington, Seattle.Scope: International. Refereed: Yes. Invited or accepted: Accepted

Gallegos, A. (Author & Presenter), Smith, J. W. (Author), Baird, R. E. (Author), Brown, S. (Author), (March 20, 2024). "Daily prebiotic consumption of sweet potatoes shifts abundances of key gut microbiota connected to gut health." Poster. 85th Annual Meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists, ASB, Chattanooga TN.Scope: Regional. Refereed: Yes. Invited or accepted: Accepted

Brown, S. P. (Author & Presenter), Noui, A. (Author), Baird, R. E. (Author), Schlarbaum, S. E. (Author), Schweitzer, C. (Author), Clark, S. L. (Author), (October 7, 2024). "Pathogen monitoring and host-environment interactions for improving white oak outplanting success. International Oak Symposium." Oral Presentation. International Oak Symposium, USDA/FS and University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.Scope: National. Refereed: No.

Brown, S. (Author & Presenter), Baird, R. E. (Author), Williams, R. (Author), Schlarbaum, S. E. (Author), Clark, S. (Author), (June 23, 2024). "More than trees: how fungal community ecology can inform and improve success of Castanea outplanting performance and disease outcomes." Poster. IUFRO World Congress, International Union of Forest Research Organizations, Stockholm Sweden. Scope: International. Refereed: No. Invited or accepted: Accepted

Thomas-Sharma, 2023 Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board, Baton Rouge, LA. ‘Screening of soybean core block varieties for resistance to aerial blight’ (11/16/2023).

Rojas, A. 2024.  Tracing plant-associated fungal pathogens through integrated approaches. Bowling Green State University – Dept. Biological Sciences. October 2024. 

Rojas, A. 2024.  Tracing plant-associated fungal pathogens through integrated approaches.  Genetics and Genome Sciences Program seminar.  (March)

Salazar, A., Arias, J., Rojas, A., Del Castillo Múnera, J.  Developing Best Management Practices for Vegetable Transplant Production by Implementing a Hazard Analyses of Critical Control Points (HACCP). Plant Health 2024

Souza, M., Rojas, JA. Effects of Fungicide Seed Treatments on Soil Microbiome Across Years. 2024 Mycological Society of America.

 

Extension and outreach presentations:

Windon, S.W. and Adhikari, A. December 25th, 2024. “Applying Adoption Models to Farmer's Decision-Making.” Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/applying-adoption-models-to-farmers-decision-making.

Adams, T. (Author & Presenter), Easley, H., Baird, R. E., (August 2, 2024). "Analysis of ROS Production in Soybean Subjected to Drought and Macrophomina phaseolina Challenges." Poster. MSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State University.Scope: Local. Refereed: No.

Hill, C. (Author & Presenter), Easley, H. (Author), Baird, R. E. (Author), (August 2, 2024). "Investigating the Impacts of M. phaseolina on the Metabolome of Soybean." Other. MSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS.Scope: Local. Refereed: No. Invited or accepted: Accepted 

Daves, N. (Author & Presenter), Easley, H. (Author), Baird, R. E. (Author), (August 2, 2024). "Temporal Investigation of Insect Populations in a Mississippi Soybean Greenhouse Trial." Poster. MSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. Invited or accepted: Accepted

Adams, T. (Author & Presenter), Easley, H. (Author), Baird, R. E. (Author), (April 12, 2024). "Analysis of ROS Production in Soybean Subjected to Drought and Macrophomina phaseolina Challenges." Poster. Biological and Life Sciences to the Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, Shackouls Honors College, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS.Scope: Local. Refereed: No.

Phillips, A. (Author & Presenter), Easley, H. (Author), Baird, R. E., (April 12, 2024). "Analysis of Soybean Response to Drought and M. phaseolina Infection." Poster. Biological and Life Sciences to the Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, Shackouls Honor College, Mississippi State University. Scope: Local. Refereed: No. Invited or accepted: Accepted 

Koenig, A. (Author & Presenter), Easley, H., Baird, R. E., (April 12, 2024). "Analysis of Soybean Response to Drought and M. phaseolina Infection." Paper. Biological and Life Sciences to the Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, Shackouls Honors College, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS.Scope: Local. Refereed: No. Invited or accepted: Accepted 

Briggs, E. (Author & Presenter), Easley, H. (Author), Baird, R. E. (Author), (April 12, 2024). "Shackouls Honors College." Poster. Undergraduate Research Symposium, Biological and Life Sciences, The Importance of Phytophthora cinnamomi in the Oak Decline Disease Complex and White Oak Restoration, Mississippi State University.Scope: Local. Refereed: No. Invited or accepted: Accepted

Related grants:

Zurweller, B. (Principal), Brown, M. W. (Co-Principal), Tice, A. (Co-Principal), Baird, R. E. (Co-Principal), "Soil Protist: Probing the Function of the Forgotten Predators in Agricultural Productivity," Sponsored by Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Mississippi State University, $50,000.00. Awarded, Grant. (March 2023 - March 2024). 

Mlsna, T. E. (Principal), Mlsna, D. A. (Co-Principal), Baird, R. E. (Co-Principal), Emerson, J. P., Fitzkee, N. C. (Co-Principal), Patrick, A. L. (Co-Principal), Crider, B. P. (Co-Principal), Gude, V. G. (Co-Principal), Zhang, D. (Co-Principal), Street, J. T. (Co-Principal), Montiel Palma, V. (Co-Principal), Schauwecker, T. J. (Co-Principal), "REU Site: Environmental Focus in Food, Energy and Water Security," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Federal, $405,000.00. Awarded Grant. (September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2025).

Fitzkee, N. C., Baird, R. E., Johnson, C., Vance, C., Montiel Palma, V., Emerson, J. P., Smith, D., Scott, C. N., "MRI: Acquisition of the First 800 MHz NMR with Cryoprobe in the State of Mississippi for Biological and Chemical Research and Teaching," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Mississippi State University, $3,147,269.00. Awarded, Grant. (August 1, 2022 - July 31, 2025). Equipment grant for used NMR for metabolomic research

Baird, R. E. (Principal) Monitoring Pathogen buildup in White Oak

Outplanted Restoration Sites. Sponsored by USFS, Mississippi State University $15,000. Awarded, Grant (June 2024 -June 2029).

Baird, R. E. (CoPI) Monitoring Pathogen Buildup in White Oak Outplanted Restoration Sites. Sponsored by USFS, Mississippi State University $24,380. Awarded, Grant (March 2023 – July 2025(2028 continuation)

Baird, R. E. (Principal) Impacts of charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) epidemiology on drought-resistant soybean cellular metabolism and accompanying tissue microbiome for identifying alternative breeding targets under increasing environmental stress. Sponsored by Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board, Mississippi State University, $98,972 Awarded (April 2024 – June 2026).

White, S. (Principal), Baird R. E. (CoPI) Evaluation of Sweet Potato Production Practices (Conventional vs Organic) on Nutritional Quality During Long-term Storage. Sponsored by Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Mississippi State University, $50,509 Awarded (October 2023 – July 2025). Sweetpotato tip/endrot storage disease research

Mlsna, T. E. (Principal), Elder, A. (Co-Principal), Vicky Montiel-Palma (Co-Principal), Fitzkee, N. (Co-Principal), Stokes, S. (Co-Principal), Emerson, J. (Co-Principal) Patrick, A. (Co-Principal), Rozier, P. (Co-Principal), Baird, R. E. (Co-Principal), Crider, B. P. Schauwecker, T. (Co-Principal), Street, J. (Co-Principal), "REU Site: Environmental Focus in Food, Energy and Water Security," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Federal, $447,029. Awarded Grant. (September 2025 - August 2028). Students participated in soybean disease research

Baird, R. E. (Principal) RNA-seq-profiling to identify candidate biomarker genes for genetic screening of soybean varieties for charcoal rot disease resistance breeding efforts. Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board, Mississippi State University $97,405 Pending (April 2025 – March 2026).

Collins, G. A. (Principal), Ahn, S. (Supporting), Meyer, F. S. (Supporting), Baird, R. E. (Supporting), Krishnan, N. (Supporting), Liu, C. (Supporting), Lu, S. (Supporting), Wilkerson, T. H. (Supporting), Tseng, T. M. (Supporting), "Applied Biosystems Quantstudio Real-time PCR System”. Sponsored by MAFES, Mississippi State University, $70,262.08. Denied, Other. (2024 - Present).

Baird, R. E. (Principal) Biochemical approach for identifying metabolomic biomarkers for soybean plant resistance to Macrophomina phaseolina.

MAFES, Mississippi State University $99,568 Denied (January 2025 – December 2026).

Baird, R. E. (CoPI) Development of sustainable climate-adapted white oak outplanting tools to ensure future timber availability. USDA-AFRI, Mississippi State University, $199,993-Baird portion $59,966, Denied (January 2025 – December 2028). 

Easley, Hannah-Student's Home Department : Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, & Plant Pathology, Title: Impacts of charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) epidemiology on drought-resistant soybean cellular metabolism and accompanying tissue microbiome for identifying alternative breeding targets under increasing environmental stress, Stage of Completion: In-Process. Graduate Student Support – Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board (2024-2025) Assistantship. 

Thomas-Sharma, S., and Moseley, D. Screening of soybean core block varieties for resistance to aerial blight. [LSGRPB, submitted, Total funding: $14,919].