Green River Community College independent studies
Screening a collection of Trichoderma spp. for antagonism to Phytophthora ramorum.
Pierce College, Puyallup, Biology 213
Stream sampling using “bait in a bottle” method at Clarks Creek
Bellarmine HS, Tacoma WA, senior projects
Testing isolates of Phytophthora and Pythium for pathogenicity to Noble fir roots
Survival of P. ramorum in water from various streams in western WA
These projects were part of the stream monitoring for Phytophthora project:
Effects of salinity on P. ramorum growth, survival, and sporulation (UW Tacoma, Environmental Microbiology)
“The shoe experiment” – testing various disinfectants for sanitizing the bottoms of shoes (Pierce College, Puyallup, Biology 213)
Sudden Oak Death is a disease caused a microscopic organism (Phytophthora ramorum) that was accidentally introduced into the western US. The disease has killed thousands of trees in California and Oregon, but it has had limited impact in Washington so far.
Phytophthora species are known as plant destroyers because the Greek origin of the word generally translates as follows:
Species in the Phytophthora genus cause many important plant diseases globally and they have substantial impacts on society.
Much of our research focuses on this exiting group of microbes. The impacts of Sudden Oak Death are just one example of the ‘destruction’ caused by this group.
We have a number of opportunities for local high school and college students to work on research projects involving sudden oak death and other plant diseases.
In general, you will gain skills in:
Please contact us for more information or to learn more about the types of exciting and important careers these skills will prepare you for.
You can also browse the links to previous projects below for an idea of the kind of opportunities we have.
Below are a few resources we have developed to help students who participate in our program.
Please contact us if you are interested in organizing and educational activity with us or if you would like to learn more about the opportunities we have for students.
Click here to see the results of these projects
Oomycetes are fungus-like organisms found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. Some, such as Phytophthora, Pythium, and Saprolegnia, are parasites of plants and animals. DNA sequence data has revealed that these organisms are not fungi, but are more closely related to brown algae and diatoms. We will be “fishing” for these organisms by using baits form various plant species.
Ornamental plant nurseries have historically been a source of invasive plant diseases since they acquire plant material from many different sources and disease symptoms can be difficult to recognize on some hosts. like disease epidemics in the human population, once the disease moves onto a plant host with high susceptibility it can be very devastating. Phytophthora pathogens are the cause of some of the most destructive plant disease outbreaks, such as Sudden Oak Death, caused by P. ramorum.
This project, we will sample stormwater retention ponds in newly landscaped housing developments in Puyallup. The goal is to identify Phytophthora species that may be moving from landscaped areas into the ponds. This will help us to determine which pathogens are present on the landscape plants and allow us to detect any invasive species early. In addition, some baseline information about Phytophthoras and other oomycetes in the these ponds will be collected.
We are looking for someone who is interested in getting experience working in a laboratory. Volunteers and students with an interest in environmental microbiology and/or plant pathology would benefit from working on this project. In the lab at WSU Puyallup, symptomatic material from leaf samples will be cultured on selctive media. Colonies of P. ramorum and other Phytophthora species will be isolated and identified using morphological and molecular methods.
For more information or to volunteer contact Marianne Elliott.
Back to Stream Monitoring Student Projects
In 2015 we have two stream monitoring projects:
Community-based stream monitoring for Phytophthora ramorum on the northern Olympic Peninsula.
Monitoring for invasive Phytophthora species in stormwater retention ponds
Click here for a calendar of upcoming events.
