Individual Listing

1234A GENOMICS BUILDING
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521

Judelson, Howard S

Professor & Plant Pathologist

College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Plant Pathology and Microbiology


Biography

 

Former Institution

University of California-Davis

Degrees

PhD Molecular Biology 1985

University of Wisconsin, Madison

BS Biochemistry 1980

Cornell University

Awards

2004 American Phytopathological Society
NIH Predoctoral Fellowship


Research Area

Our research seeks to characterize the genetics and developmental biology of oomycete fungi such as Phytophthora infestans, a species that causes the late blight diseases of tomato and potato. In the long term, our work will lead to a greater understanding of oomycete fungi and strategies for controlling them. Most of our research involves characterizing genes involved in important aspects of the growth of P. infestans. This is being pursued using the tools of genetics, genomics, cell biology, and biochemistry. One part of the life cycle that interests us is the sexual cycle, which is important because it generates durable overwintering structures and strains with new pathogenic characteristics. Our studies of the sexual cycle involve cloning the loci that determine sexual compatibility between isolates, and identifying genes required for the differentiation of the sexual spores. Asexual spore development is another aspect of the life cycle of P. infestans that we study, since such propagules play a key role in initiating infections of plants. Fungicide resistance, which has frustrated growers' ability to control oomycete diseases in the field, is being studied using genetic and biochemical approaches. To enable the analysis and manipulation of genes in oomycetes, we pioneered the development of gene transfer methods and continue to develop these techniques. In addition to the basic research projects described above, we have also developed a range of methods for diagnosing infections of plants by oomycetes using molecular markers.

Publications

Judelson, H. S., and Tooley, P. W. (2000) Enhanced PCR methods for detecting and quantifying Phytophthora infestans in plants. Phytopathology 90, 1112-1119.

Judelson, H. S., and Fabritius, A-L. (2000) A linear RNA replicon from the oomycete, Phytophthora infestans. Molecular and General Genetics 263, 395-403.

Randall, T. A., and Judelson, H. S. (1999) Construction of a bacterial artificial chromosome library of Phytophthora infestans and transformation of clones into P. infestans. Fungal Genetics and Biology 28, 160-170.

Judelson, H. S., and Roberts, S. (1999) Multiple loci determining insensitivity to phenylamide fungicides in Phytophthora infestans. Phytopathology 89, 754-760.

Judelson, H. S., and Yang, G. (1998) Recombination pathways in Phytophthora infestans: polyploidy resulting from aberrant sexual development and zoospore-mediated heterokaryosis. Mycological Reports 102, 1245-1253.

Cvitanich, C. and Judelson, H. S. 2003. A gene expressed during sexual and asexual sporulation in Phytophthora infestans is a member of the Puf family of translational regulators. Eukaryotic Cell 2, 465-473.

Fabritius, A.-L. and H. S. Judelson. 2003. A mating-induced protein of Phytophthora infestans is a member of a family of elicitors with divergent structures and stage-specific patterns of expression. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, in press.