Andrew Bent
Credentials: Plant Pathology Department
Position title: Molecular basis of plant disease resistance
Email: afbent@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 265-3034
Address:
886 Russell Laboratories
1630 Linden Dr
Madison, WI 53706
LAB WEBSITE:
FOCUS GROUP:
Plant Biology
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
We study the molecular basis of plant immune system function. We study initial pathogen recognition mechanisms, downstream signal transduction events that lead to activation of resistance, and unique responses in which the host organism gains resistance by disrupting the basic cellular processes of infected host cells. Most of our work studies soybean, one of the most important crop plants worldwide, and Arabidopsis thaliana, the most successful model organism for laboratory-based plant research.
Three specific areas of study are:
1) The control of soybean resistance to soybean cyst nematode.
2) The role of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in plant responses to microbial infections.
3) The structure and function of immune system receptor proteins that carry a leucine-rich repeat domain.
ALSO A TRAINER IN THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS:
Plant Pathology, Genetics, Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics (PBPG), Microbiology Doctoral Training Program (MDTP)