Congratulations to Dorith Rotenberg for her leadership in the efforts to sequence the genome of the western flower thrips. The western flower thrips — an invasive insect that’s not much bigger than a pinhead — takes a huge bite out of agriculture around the world, racking up billions of dollars’ worth of damage on a wide range of food, fiber and ornamental crops each year. Scientists now have a complete genetic blueprint to help them better understand the pest and to find ways to control it.

The Consequences of Disease. Listen to a podcast given by Dr. Ristaino to incoming freshman at NC State in Wicked Problems: Wolfpack Solutions class on “The Consequences of Plant Diseases and the Irish Famine”. She shares here own experience in plant patholology, her global travels to track outbreaks and talks about efforts to inderstand the history of the famine and why it is relavent to controlling emerging pathogens today.

Listen to her daughter Sarah Ristaino since a song on the impact of the loss of potatoes on the Irish food supply “Oh the Praties they Grow Small”

Thanks to the Australian Grain Research Development Corporation (GRDC) for producing this great video on our sensor technlogy developed by our cluster facutly team to detect plant diseases.  The video was recorded during a Feb 2020 trip to Perth Australia by Jean Ristaino.

Plant Aid: A GRIP4PSI Big-Data Project to Detect Plant Diseases Faster

Join cluster bioinformatiician Dr. David Rasmussen and Geneticist Dr. Jeff Thorne in a discussion of “Teaching evolution in the time of COVID-19“.  Webinar aired 4/2/20 as part of the Club EvMed series hosted by TRICEM

GES Colloquim talk. Watch a recording of Jean Ristaino’s seminar on “Tackling the Global Challenges of Emerging Plant Diseases” for the Global Genetic Engineering and Society Center colloquium March 31, 2020 here.

Outbreaks: Tackling Emerging Plant Diseases that Threaten Food Security January 10,  2020, 1-7PM  The Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security Cluster held a symposium in January to highlight the innovative research of the cluster team.  The cluster works to improve both local and global efforts to manage emerging pests and pathogens that threaten crop production and lead to food insecurity. NC State has a strong history in conducting international agricultural research and outreach. Many emerging “armed and dangerous” plant diseases and pests threaten US and global agriculture and reported outbreaks have become more severe with trade and changing climate.  See the EBD Program here.