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Education

• B.S. Botany, University of Oklahoma
• B.S. Chemistry, University of Oklahoma
• M.S. Plant Pathology, Purdue University
• Ph.D. Plant Pathology, Purdue University

Research Emphasis

Complex, molecular-level interactions between plants and pathogens ultimately determine the extent to which disease develops.  Research in my lab takes systems-based approaches to characterize molecular mechanisms underlying diseases of crop species.   In general, our research addresses the following fundamental questions:

• How is pathogenesis regulated in fungi and what are the links between diverse components
of pathogenesis, e.g., morphological differentiation, conidiation, and secondary metabolism?
• What are the environmental cues that trigger pathogenesis in fungi and how are they
perceived?
• To what extent is the genetic regulation of pathogenesis conserved among fungal
pathogens?
• How do plants respond to pathogens at the molecular level and what genes are involved?

We blend a wide range of techniques and approaches in our research, including conventional and molecular genetics, functional, comparative, and evolutionary genomics, analytical chemistry, and metabolomics to explore the basis of both fungal pathogenesis and host resistance.  Areas of particular interest include kernel-rotting diseases caused by mycotoxigenic fungi, such as Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium verticillioides, and Fusarium graminearum; foliar diseases caused by species of Cercospora, including C. zeae-maydis and C. kikuchii; and diseases caused by necrotrophic fungi, such as Botrytis cinerea. 

Publications

• Bluhm BH, Dhillon B, Lindquist EZ, Kema GHJ, Goodwin SB, Dunkle LD.  Analyses of expressed sequence tags from the maize foliar pathogen Cercospora zeae-maydis identify novel genes expressed during vegetative, infectious, and reproductive growth.  BMC Genomics (in review).
• Bluhm BH, Kim H, Butchko RA, Woloshuk CP.  2008.  Involvement of ZFR1 of Fusarium verticillioides in kernel colonization and the regulation of FST1, a putative sugar transporter gene required for fumonisin biosynthesis on maize kernels.  Molecular Plant Pathology 9:203-211.
• Bluhm BH, Zhao X, Flaherty JE, Xu JR, Dunkle L.  2007.  RAS2 regulates growth and pathogenesis in Fusarium graminearum.  Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 20:627-636.
• AbuQamar S, Chen X, Dhawan R, Bluhm B, Salmeron J, Lam S, Dietrich RA, Mengiste T.  2006.  Expression profiling and mutant analysis reveals complex regulatory networks involved in Arabidopsis response to Botrytis infection.  Plant Journal 48:28-44.
• Bluhm BH, Woloshuk CP.  2006.  Fck1, a C-type cyclin-dependent kinase, interacts with Fcc1 to regulate development and secondary metabolism in Fusarium verticillioides.  Fungal Genetics and Biology 43:146-154. (cover article)
• Veronese P, Nakagami H, Bluhm B, AbuQamar S, Chen X, Salmeron J, Dietrich RA, Hirt H, Mengiste T.  2006.  The membrane-anchored BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE1 plays distinct roles in Arabidopsis resistance to necrotrophic and biotrophic pathogens.  Plant Cell 18:257-273.
• Bluhm BH, Woloshuk CP.  2005.  Amylopectin induces fumonisin B-1 production by Fusarium verticillioides during colonization of maize kernels.  Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 18:1333-1339.
• Cooley C, Bluhm BH, Reuhs BL, Woloshuk CP.  2005.  Glass-fiber disks provide suitable medium to study polyol production and gene expression in Eurotium rubrum.  Mycologia 97:743-750.
• Veronese P, Chen X, Bluhm B, Salmeron J, Dietrich R, Mengiste T.  2004.  The BOS loci of Arabidopsis are required for resistance to Botrytis cinerea infection.  Plant Journal 40:558-574.
• Bluhm BH, Cousin MA, Woloshuk CP.  2004.  Multiplex real-time PCR detection of fumonisin-producing and trichothecene-producing groups of Fusarium species.  Journal of Food Protection 67:536-543.
• Flaherty JE, Pirttila AM, Bluhm BH, Woloshuk CP.  2003.  PAC1, a pH-regulatory gene from Fusarium verticillioides.  Applied and Environmental Microbiology 69:5222-5227.
• Bluhm BH, Flaherty JE, Cousin MA, Woloshuk CP.  2002.  Multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay for the differential detection of trichothecene- and fumonisin-producing species of Fusarium in cornmeal.  Journal of Food Protection 65:1955-1961.