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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » Crop Production and Pest Control Research » People » Steve Goodwin

Stephen B Goodwin (Steve)

Research Plant Pathologist

Goodwin lab research interests

 

The Goodwin lab works on host-pathogen interactions between fungal pathogens of cereal crops and their hosts, specifically the genetics, genomics and population biology of the fungi that cause Septoria tritici blotch of wheat and tar spot of corn, and the genetics and mechanisms of resistance in their host plants. Septoria tritici blotch, caused by Zymoseptoria tritici (synonyms Septoria tritici, Mycosphaeralla graminicola) is one of the most economically important diseases of wheat worldwide, particularly in areas with cool, wet weather. Tar spot is endemic to Latin America but was first detected in the U.S. during 2015 and has rapidly become the most important disease problem in the major corn-growing areas of the U.S. and Canada. Increasing the level of resistance of wheat and corn to their fungal pathogens is the most economically effective method to manage these diseases. The Goodwin lab has genetically mapped multiple resistance genes to these diseases in wheat and corn and developed molecular markers that can be used to transfer the resistance into improved cultivars. Several pathogen genomes have been sequenced and used to identify genes that may be involved in pathogenicity. In addition, leaf microbiomes of corn lines that differ in resistance to tar spot have been analyzed to identify organisms that could be useful for biological control of the causal fungus. This research should ultimately lead to improved lines of corn and wheat with increased resistance to fungal pathogens and a reduced need for harmful chemicals to increase yield.