Welcome to the Plant Pathology + Virology (PPV) Lab

At the Plant Pathology + Virology (PPV) Laboratory, we study plant pathogens beginning in the field, where we diagnose plant diseases and collect diverse samples from crops, arthropods, wild plants or weeds, and the environment (soil and/or water). Our findings are further investigated under controlled conditions in greenhouses or growth chambers – to explore microbes’ biological properties and possible ecological and beneficial roles. Subsequent molecular diagnostics and high-throughput sequencing are performed in the ‘wet’ lab, generating vast datasets that are then processed and interpreted using bioinformatics tools, data mining, and modeling approaches in the ‘dry’ lab.  

This integrated approach, from field observations to computational analysis, allows us to explore plant pathogen diversity, predict disease emergence and spread, and develop sustainable strategies to protect plant health.