Dr. Matthew Moscou

This group studies the interaction of cereals and rusts (Pucciniales), investigating the complex interplay between plant immunity and pathogen infection. In cereal rusts, they identify effectors (molecules that manipulate the host for infection success) and evaluate their role in recognition and suppression of immunity. In cereals, they leverage natural variation to identify new immune receptors, study the evolutionary trajectories of different immune receptor gene families, and engineer novel variants to expand the repertoire of immune receptors for agricultural improvement. The researchers leverage genomics, phenomics, proteomics, molecular biology, evolutionary biology, and structural biology to study diverse plant-pathogen systems.