Dr. Milton Drott

Fusarium head blight disease (FHB) of wheat and barley caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum is among the most important diseases of cereal crops both in the United States and worldwide. The disease not only causes serious yield reductions, but also contaminates the grain with harmful mycotoxins rendering it unsuitable for food or feed. Control of FHB and reduction of toxin levels has been difficult to achieve due to lack of highly effective host plant resistance. This group performs population and comparative genomics to elucidate virulence factors and the evolution of pathogenesis in this group of organisms.