Christina Cowger

About

Christina Cowger is a USDA Plant Pathologist and Adjunct Professor at NC State University, specializing in the biology, epidemiology, and population genetics of small grain pathogens. Her research aims to develop profitable and sustainable management practices for small grain diseases, working closely with breeders, extension personnel, and other groups across the eastern U.S. Her expertise includes pathogen adaptation to host resistance, host genotype diversity, and the epidemiological and disease management implications of pathogen population structure. Dr. Cowger's research involves laboratory, greenhouse, and field studies utilizing molecular techniques to investigate species identity, phylogeny, population structure, and pathogen life cycles, complemented by epidemiological modeling and classical field-plot research.

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Agronomy
• Mathematics
• Materials science
• Metallurgy
• Botany
• Animal science
• Horticulture
• Ecology

Selected publications

• Global genomic analyses of wheat powdery mildew reveal association of pathogen spread with historical human migration and trade

  Nature Communications · 2022 · 93 citations

  The fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici causes wheat powdery mildew disease. Here, we study its spread and evolution by analyzing a global sample of 172 mildew genomes. Our analyses show that B.g. tritici emerged in the Fertile Crescent during wheat domestication. After it spread throughout Eurasia, colonization brought it to America, where it hybridized with unknown grass mildew species. Recent trade brought USA strains to Japan, and European strains to China. In both places, they hybridize…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Two pathogen loci determine <i>Blumeria graminis</i> f. sp. <i>tritici</i> virulence to wheat resistance gene <i>Pm1a</i>

  New Phytologist · 2023-02-11 · 33 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) is a globally important fungal pathogen of wheat that can rapidly evolve to defeat wheat powdery mildew (Pm) resistance genes. Despite periodic regional deployment of the Pm1a resistance gene in US wheat production, Bgt strains that overcome Pm1a have been notably nonpersistent in the United States, while on other continents, they are more widely established. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to map sequence variants associated with Pm1a…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Role of Effector-Sensitivity Gene Interactions and Durability of Quantitative Resistance to Septoria Nodorum Blotch in Eastern U.S. Wheat

  Frontiers in Plant Science · 2020 · 29 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  NE interactions are of limited importance. This conclusion is discussed in light of the relevant available information from other parts of the world.

  DOI

• Virulence of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici in Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Russia, and Australia

  Frontiers in Plant Science · 2022-08-01 · 18 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The globally distributed causal agent of powdery mildew on wheat, Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici ( Bgt ), is one of the most rapidly adapting plant pathogens and requires monitoring for shifts in virulence to wheat resistance ( Pm ) genes. Virulence frequencies were assessed in a total of 346 Bgt isolates from several countries that had either lately recorded increasing powdery mildew epidemics (Brazil, South Africa, and Australia) or not recently been surveyed (Turkey and Russia). The results…

  PublisherDOI

• Multiple routes to fungicide resistance: Interaction of <i>Cyp51</i> gene sequences, copy number and expression

  Molecular Plant Pathology · 2024-09-01 · 13 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  We examined the molecular basis of triazole resistance in Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (wheat mildew, Bgt), a model organism among powdery mildews. Four genetic models for responses to triazole fungicides were identified among US and UK isolates, involving multiple genetic mechanisms. Firstly, only two amino acid substitutions in CYP51B lanosterol demethylase, the target of triazoles, were associated with resistance, Y136F and S509T (homologous to Y137F and S524T in the reference fungus Zymo…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Ryan Parks

  University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  73 shared

• Evsey Kosman

  Tel Aviv University

  58 shared

• Roi Ben‐David

  Agricultural Research Organization

  54 shared

• A. Dinoor

  Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  53 shared

• Beat Keller

  University of Zurich

  53 shared

• Thomas Wicker

  University of Zurich

  50 shared

• P. S. Ojiambo

  North Carolina State University

  40 shared

• Gina Brown‐Guedira

  Agricultural Research Service

  35 shared

Labs

• Structural Pest Management Training & Research FacilityPI

Similar researchers at North Carolina State University

• Coby Schalh-60
• Peter Balint-Kurtih-60
• Ignazio Carboneh-51