Speaker: Dr. Kevin Cox Jr., Hannah Gray Fellow at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Title: Transcriptional Regulation in Plant-Microbe Interactions

Abstract: Microbes interact with plants in both pathogenic and beneficial ways. Because of this, plants need to defend themselves from pathogens that are constantly evolving to overcome resistance while at the same time take advantage of the microbes that benefit them. Plants can use signaling pathways to regulate gene expression in response to these microbes. The development of RNA-sequencing technologies have allowed scientists to describe the extensive signaling networks in plants and the molecules that are communicated between plants and microbes. In my talk, I will first discuss how I used a combined RNA-sequencing and computational analysis approach to identify a plant sugar transporter that plays a key role in susceptibility to Bacterial Blight of Cotton, a cotton bacterial disease caused by a Xanthomonas species. I will then discuss my current interests in applying high-resolution, RNAsequencing technologies to study plant-microbe interactions across different organisms. Lastly, I will share some of my outreach efforts and methods.

Recent publications:
Cox, KL; Elliott, KR; Harris, TM. (2021) Creating supportive environments in academia for Black scientists to thrive. The Plant Cell, doi: 10.1093/plcell/koab125.

Gurazada, SGR; Cox, KL Jr; Czymmek, KJ; Meyers, BC. (2021) Space: The Final Frontier. Achieving single cell, spatially resolved transcriptomics in plants. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences, doi: 10.1042/ETLS20200274.

Cox, KL Jr; Babilonia, K; Wheeler, T; He, P; Shan, L. (2019) Return of old foes-Recurrence of bacterial blight and Fusarium wilt of cotton. Current Opinion of Plant Biology, 50, 95-103.

Li, F; Li, M; Wang, P; Cox KL Jr; Duan, L; Dever, JK; Shan, L; Li, Z; He, P. (2017) Regulation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) drought responses by mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade-mediated phosphorylation of GhWRKY59. New Phytologist, doi: 10.1111/nph.14680.

Cox, KL; Meng, F; Wilkins, KW; Li, F; Wang, P; Booher, NJ; Carpenter, SD; Chen, LQ; Zheng, H; Gao, X; Zheng, Y; Fei, Z; Yu, JZ; Isakeit, T; Wheeler, T; Frommer, WB; He, P; Bogdanove, AJ; Shan, L. (2017) TAL effector driven induction of a SWEET gene confers susceptibility to bacterial blight of cotton. Nature Communications, doi:10.1038/NCOMMS15588.

WebEx Link: https://iastate.webex.com/iastate/j.php?MTID=m1b1629afc82e9902a63cc1d469fef3cb

Questions? Clark Coffman ccoffman@iastate.edu