About

Kimberly Cochran, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology & Microbiology at Texas A&M University. Her work involves a wide variety of crops in the Texas Winter Garden and district 10, which spans from Bastrop to Bracketville. She has ongoing projects on crops such as spinach, grape, pecan, olive, and sesame, focusing on research and disease information support for producers of specialty crops. Her interests include working with foliar and soilborne diseases influenced by the needs of producers in her area and statewide, including Pierce’s Disease on grape, Anthracnose and Stemphylium Leaf Spots on spinach, Cotton Root Rot, and root rots of sesame. Cochran strives to serve the needs of producers and the people of Texas through direct collaboration and research.

Research topics

• Botany
• Biology
• Horticulture
• Microbiology
• Genetics

Selected publications

• "Ah Ain't Brought Home a Thing but Mahself": Cultural and Folk Heroism in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Ellen Douglas' Can't Quit You, Baby

  ScholarWorks - Georgia State University (Georgia State University) · 2022-05-11

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  In scholarship discussing Zora Neale Hurston?s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie?s self-realization is central to her identity, and many scholars view and discuss her as a cultural hero. But her success is conditional on circumstance rather than composition of character, a fact this essay explores through a careful comparison between Janie and Tweet, a character from Ellen Douglas? Can?t Quit You, Baby; specifically, while Janie ultimately succeeds in her world?even while confronting gender oppression?she improbably avoids the additional, crippling subjugation of racial prejudice that Tweet endures. Through this and a discussion of definitions and Hurston?s work as a folklorist/writer, I attempt to show that Janie can be more effectively described as a folk hero, a title that: (1) accurately identifies her functions in her fictional society and in literary fiction and (2) satisfies Hurston?s goals in the novel while also accurately reflecting Janie?s journey to self fulfillment.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Curtobacterium allii sp. nov., the actinobacterial pathogen causing onion bulb rot

  Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2022 · 17 citations

  • Biology
  • Botany
  • Microbiology
  PublisherDOI

• Pseudomonas uvaldensis sp. nov., a bacterial pathogen causing onion bulb rot

  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY · 2022-04-20 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and non-spore-forming bacterial strain, designated 20TX0172 T , was isolated from a rotting onion bulb in Texas, USA. The results of phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA sequence indicated that the novel strain represented a member of the genus Pseudomonas and had the greatest sequence similarities with Pseudomonas kilonensis 520-20 T (99.3 %), Pseudomonas corrugata CFBP 2431 T (99.2 %), and Pseudomonas viciae 11K1 T (99.2 %) but the 16S rRNA phylogenetic tree displayed a monophyletic clade with Pseudomonas mediterranea CFBP 5447 T . In the phylogenetic trees based on sequences of four housekeeping genes ( gap1 , gltA , gyrB and rpoD ), the novel strain formed a separate branch, indicating that the strain was distinct phylogenetically from known species of the genus Pseudomonas . The genome-sequence-derived average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between the novel isolate and P. mediterranea DSM 16733 T were 86.7 and 32.7 %, respectively. These values were below the accepted species cutoff threshold of 96 % ANI and 70 % dDDH, affirming that the strain represented a novel species. The genome size of the novel species was 5.98 Mbp with a DNA G+C content of 60.8 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, strain 20TX0172 T represents a novel species of the genus Pseudomonas . The name Pseudomonas uvaldensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 20TX0172 T (=NCIMB 15426 T =CIP 112022 T ).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Curtobacterium allii sp. nov., the actinobacterial pathogen causing onion bulb rot

  Research Square · 2022-04-11

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract A Gram positive, aerobic, and non-spore-forming bacterial strain, 20TX0166 T , was isolated from a diseased onion bulb in Texas, USA. Upon testing its pathogenicity on onion bulb, it produced pathogenic response which makes it first species of pathogen belonging to the phylum actinobacteria detected in onion. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Curtobacterium and was most similar to Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens LMG 3645 T (100%), C. pusillum DSM 20527 T (99.5%), and C. oceanosedimentum ATCC 31317 T (99.5%). The orthologous ANI (orthoANIu), ANI based on blast (ANIb), and dDDH values between the novel strain and the closest relative, C. flaccumfaciens LMG 3645 T , were 95.7%, 95.4%, and 63.3%, respectively. These values were below the recommended species cut-off threshold of 96% (ANI) and 70% (dDDH), suggesting the strain may be a novel species. The estimated genome size of the novel species was 3.98 Mbp with a G + C content of 70.8%. Physiologic and phenotypic characters of this novel strain were also unique when compared with the closely related species. The major cellular fatty acids of this strain were C 15:0 anteiso and C 17:0 anteiso. Using a polyphasic approach based on phenotypic and genotypic analyses, strain 20TX0166 T represents a novel species of the genus Curtobacterium , and the name Curtobacterium allii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 20TX0166 T (= LMG 32517 T , =CIP112023 T , =NCIMB 15427 T ).

  PublisherDOI

• Effects of Soybean Cultivar, Foliar Application of Azoxystrobin, and Year on Seed Vigor and Microflora Under Delayed Harvest Conditions

  Plant Disease · 2020-10-20 · 6 citations

  article1st author

  The effects of cultivar and foliar fungicide applications on soybean seed germination, vigor, microflora, and yield after delayed harvest were determined at the University of Arkansas Vegetable Research Station in Kibler, AR, from 2008 to 2010. Seven cultivars with varying levels of resistance to Diaporthe spp. or Cercospora spp. were treated or not treated with a foliar application of azoxystrobin at the R5 growth stage. Plots were harvested 3 weeks after the plants had reached harvest maturity. Yields were recorded, samples of seed were collected, and standard germination (SG) and accelerated aging (AA) were assessed. Seeds were also assayed for infection by fungi on modified potato dextrose agar and by bacteria on nutrient agar. Seed vigor was significantly reduced by infection with Diaporthe spp., Fusarium spp., and Bacillus subtilis, but not with Cercospora spp. Cultivar had a significant impact on yield, seed vigor, and seed infection levels. The cultivar Osage had consistently high seed vigor and low overall seed infection incidence throughout the study. MO/PSD-0259, AG 4403, and UA 4805 also had relatively high seed vigor and low seed infection rates. PI 80837 had a low incidence of seed infection by Diaporthe spp. and Fusarium spp. in 2008 and 2010, but high levels in 2009, when environmental conditions were especially favorable for these pathogens. AP 350 and Suweon97 had relatively high seed infection incidences, particularly of Diaporthe spp. and Fusarium spp., and relatively low seed vigor. Application of the foliar fungicide azoxystrobin at the R5 growth stage significantly increased AA across years and cultivars and increased seed infection by Diaporthe spp. in 2009 across cultivars. There were significant negative correlations between yield and seed infection by Diaporthe spp. and Bacillus subtilis during 1 year and with Fusarium spp. during all 3 years. Overall, resistance to seed infection can persist even when harvest is delayed. In addition to Diaporthe spp., other seedborne pathogens may reduce seed vigor and yield.

  PublisherDOI

• Three New Fungal Leaf Spot Diseases of Spinach in the United States and the Evaluation of Fungicide Efficacy for Disease Management

  Plant Disease · 2020 · 11 citations

  • Biology
  • Horticulture
  • Botany

  caused symptoms of intermediate severity. Fungicide efficacy tests demonstrated that chlorothalonil, mancozeb, pyraclostrobin, fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin, and penthiopyrad were completely effective at preventing leaf spots caused by any of these pathogens when applied 24 h before inoculation of 'Viroflay' plants in greenhouse trials.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Characterization of Leaf Spot Pathogens from Several Spinach Production Areas in the United States

  Plant Disease · 2020 · 24 citations

  • Biology
  • Horticulture
  • Botany

  , when inoculated individually and in combination.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Single‐marker and haplotype‐based association analysis of anthracnose (<i>Colletotrichum dematium)</i>resistance in spinach (<i>Spinacia oleracea</i>)

  Plant Breeding · 2019-11-10 · 15 citations

  article

  Abstract Anthracnose ( Colletotrichum dematium ) is an important disease in spinach ( Spinacia oleracea ). Sources of resistance must be identified, and molecular tools must be developed to expedite cultivar development. In this study, a diverse collection of 276 spinach accessions was scored for anthracnose disease severity. We then evaluated marker identification approaches by testing how well haplotype‐based trait modelling compares to single markers in identifying strong association signals. Alleles in linkage disequilibrium were tagged in haplotype blocks, and anthracnose‐associated molecular markers were identified using single‐SNP (sSNP), pairwise haplotype (htP) and multi‐marker haplotype (htM) SNP tagging approaches. We identified 49 significantly associated markers distributed on several spinach chromosomes using all methods. The sSNP approach identified 13 markers, while htP identified 24 (~63% more) and htM 34 (~162% more). Of these markers, four were uniquely identified by the sSNP approach, nine by htP and nineteen by htM. The results indicate that resistance to anthracnose is polygenic and that haplotype‐based analysis may have more power than sSNP. Using a combination of these methods can improve the identification of molecular markers for spinach breeding.

  PublisherDOI

• First Report of <i>Rhizoctonia solani</i> AG4 Causing Stem Necrosis in Sesame in Southwest Texas

  Plant Disease · 2018-05-03 · 5 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Soybean Seed Quality and Vigor: Influencing Factors, Measurement, and Pathogen Characterization

  Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science · 2015-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  High seed vigor (SV), or the ability of seed to germinate and grow in a stressful environment is important, as many field emergence conditions are stressful for germination. Soybean SV can be affected by cultivar, seed storage environment conditions, the growing environment during seed development, crop management practices such as foliar fungicide applications, pathogens, and other factors. To assess the effects of some of these factors on soybean, the objectives of this work were to determine 1. the effect of cultivar and foliar azoxystrobin application on soybean yield, germination, vigor, microflora, and their relationships under harvest delay conditions; 2. if amplicon sequence community analysis using next generation sequencing characterized more fungi and bacteria than culture dependent methods; and 3. changes in seed quality and performance of high and low quality soybean seed stored in a commercial warehouse and under controlled conditions during the summer season as measured by SG, vigor, and field emergence. Cultivar had a significant impact on yield and soybean SV, which were at least partly due to differences in seedborne pathogen infection. Differences in pathogen incidence among cultivars appeared to be influenced by genes for disease resistance. Foliar azoxystrobin application affected SV and seedborne pathogen incidence inconsistently, particularly Phomopsis longicolla. Seed infection by fungi and bacteria significantly reduced SV. Seedborne pathogens are problematic in all soybean growing areas. Culture dependent methods, the current standard, may only detect a small portion of the microorganisms in a seed lot. Next generation amplicon sequencing of fungal and bacterial DNA revealed over two dozen seedborne microorganisms. Five fungi and bacteria were found using culture methods from the same seed lot. During storage seed are best maintained by cool and low humidity conditions, which are not always available in seed warehouses. In this study, seed stored in high temperatures and relative humidity had greater reductions of field emergence and SV to a lesser degree than controls. Overall, soybean SV was affected by cultivar, environmental conditions at harvest, and appeared to be affected by conditions of storage, which affected SV through changes in seed physiology and infection by fungal and bacterial pathogens.

  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Bed Prakash Bhatta

  Texas A&M University

  9 shared

• Manzeal Khanal

  9 shared

• Subas Malla

  9 shared

• Sujan Timilsina

  University of Florida

  7 shared

• Sudeep Ghimire

  South Dakota State University

  3 shared

• Khumbuzile N. Bophela

  University of Pretoria

  2 shared

• Lindsey J. du Toit

  Washington State University

  2 shared

• Chunda Feng

  University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

  2 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Plant Pathology

  Texas A&M University

  2004

• M.S., Plant Pathology

  Texas A&M University

  1999

• B.S., Botany

  University of California, Davis

  1994