This International Research Experience for Students (IRES) award supports student engagement in tropical plant pathology research in Costa Rica. A diverse group of U.S. undergraduate and graduate students will conduct research on late blight of potato caused by Phytophthora infestans, black pod of cacao caused by Phytophthora species, and black Sigatoka disease of banana caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis. Specifically, students will conduct microsatellite analysis of Phytophthora samples, calculate Phytophthora species abundance and diversity, and assess the production of light-activated toxins by M. fijiensis. Graduate and undergraduate students will work in pairs with plant pathologists at the Universidad de Costa Rica, including Dr. Felipe Arauz, Dr. Monica Blanco, and Dr. Luis Gomez. Students will also be mentored by researchers at Dole's Rio Frio Farm and CATIE -Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center. Prior to the research experience, students will take a course in Tropical Plant Pathology that includes field-based learning experiences in cacao, banana, pineapple, tropical root crops, floriculture, and sugarcane fields.
This five-week summer research experience will allow students to solve real-world problems connected to economically important diseases of tropical crops. Students will have the opportunity to present their data to a broad community that includes the Universidad de Costa Rica, a Master's student symposium at NC State, the Oomycete Molecular Genetics Network, and major industry groups including the World Cocoa Foundation and Dole Foods. Students will also have the opportunity to continue their research through independent studies in the fall semester.
Plant pathogens cause losses estimated to be as high as $30 billion per year worldwide and are limiting factors in agricultural production in developing countries. Many tropical plant diseases occur after the crop has left the field in post harvest conditions where losses can be significant. The risk of introduction of pathogens with trade between countries requires monitoring and improved diagnostic capabilities for plant diseases on important foods crops and deployment of improved resistant varieties that are grown in an ecologically sustainable manner. We have a moral imperative to work on improving food production in the developing world. The evolution of new pathogens and emergence of new diseases requires continued research in the region. Loss of tropical plant biodiversity including deforestation due to agriculture and crop disease is impacting ecosystems. Undescribed new species of fungi, some of which are plant pathogens, are emerging in the tropics. Host-parasite evolution has occurred over longer periods in the tropics. Tropical regions including Central and South America are often the source of inoculum for epidemics in North America (ie, soybean rust and coffee rust migrated from Brazil to Central and North America). Plant diseases cause crop loss that can lead to food security issues and poverty, both drivers of migration of people from Central America to the US. Our overall goal is to reduce crop losses from plant pathogens on tropical crops and train the next generation of scientists to conduct global research in the tropics. We developed a Global Plant Health Program at NC State University that includes a class in Tropical Plant Pathology and a six week summer research internship program in Costa Rica. The research projects have direct benefits to society and include opportunities for students to solve real world problems by conducting ecologically-based research in the tropics on economically important plant disease problems on tropical crops. The NSF IRES has provided funding for 18 Global Plant Health Research interns and over 55 students to participate in the Tropical Plant Pathology class. Research projects on economically important diseases such as coffee rust of coffee, Panama Disease and Black Sigatoka of banana and late blight of potato. The research has improved the ecological sustainability of these crops in Central America. The projects also impact crop production in the US since many of the pathogens present in Costa Rica can move with plant material from that country to the US. The outcome of some of the research may affect regulatory policies in both countries.
