DIVISION OF PLANT PATHOLOGY & MICROBIOLOGY
in The Department of Plant Sciences

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Forbes Building 303,
P.O. Box 210036,
Tucson AZ 85721-0036
(520) 621-1977, FAX (520) 621-7186



Dr. Barry Pryor
Associate Professor
Ph.D., (1999)
University of California, Davis

e-mail: bmpryor@ag.arizona.edu
Office Phone: (520)626-5312

Pryor lab homepage

Alternaria Online


Area of Interest:
Biological and cultural control of disease in field, tree, and vegetable crops; seed pathology; phylogenetic analysis and species concepts; secondary fungal metabolites; industrial and medical mycology.

Research Goals:
The research interests of our laboratory include applied and basic aspects of Plant Pathology. Our focus on crop disease in Arizona is broad and is responsive to disease pressures that challenge the diverse agricultural industry of this State and other arid agroecosystems. Biological- and cultural-based strategies for disease management are developed from basic research in disease epidemiology, molecular characterization and detection of plant pathogen and biocontrol agents, and investigation of plant-microbe interactions. Current areas of interest include biocontrol of Sclerotinia spp., causal agents of lettuce drop; development of molecular-based methods of detection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucum in lettuce seed and field soil; characterization of Alternaria spp. responsible for Alternaria rot of citrus; phylogenetic reconstruction and the development of species concept for Alternaria and related groups within the Pleosporaceae; and the production of secondary metabolites by Alternaria spp., their occurrence in food products, and their role in plant pathogenesis. An emerging area of focus within our research program investigates the etiology of fungal-induced respiratory disease and mechanisms of interaction between fungi and human immune systems.

Most Recent Publications:

Mbofung, G. Y., Hong, S. G., and Pryor, B. M. 2007. Phylogeny of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae inferred from mitochondrial small subunit, elongation factor 1-?, and nuclear ribosomal intergenic spacer sequence data.
Phytopathology 97:87-98.

Ikner, L. A., Tommey, R. S., Nolan, G., Neilson, J. W., Pryor, B. M., and Maier, R. M. 2007. Culturable Microbial Diversity and the Impact of Tourism in Kartchner Caverns, Arizona. Microbial Ecology 53:30-42.

Cho, Y., Cramer, R. A., Kim, K. H., Davis, J., Mitchel, T. K., Figuli, P., Pryor, B. M., Lemasters, E., and Lawrence, C. B. 2007. The Fus3/Kss1 MAP kinase homolog Amk1 regulates the espression of genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes in Alternaria brassicicola. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 44:543-53.

Pryor, B. M. and Asma, M. 2007. First report of seedling damping-off of fennel caused by Alternaria petroselini in the Netherlands. Plant Disease 91:1688.

Hong, S. G., Maccaroni, M., Figuli, P. J., Belisario, A, and Pryor, B. M. 2006.
Polyphasic classification of Alternaria isolated from hazelnut and walnut fruit in Europe. Mycological research 104:1312-1321.

Drees, K. P., Neilson, J. W., Betancourt, J. L., Quade, J., Henderson, D. A., Pryor, B. M., and Maier, R. M. 2006. Bacterial diversity in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, Chile. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72:7902-7908.

Hong, S. G., Cramer, R.A., Lawerence, C.B., and Pryor, B. M. 2005. Detection of Alt a 1 homologs in Alternaria and related taxa and their use in phylogenetic reconstruction. Fungal Genetics and Biology 42:119-129.

Hong, G. S., and Liu, D.,and Pryor, B. M. 2005. Restriction mapping of IGS regions from Alternaria spp. and their taxonomic implication. Mycol. Res. 109:87-95.

Hong, G. S., and Pryor, B. M., 2004. Development of selective media for the isolation and enumeration of Alternaria species from soil and plant debris. Can. J. Microbiol. 50:461-468.

Belisario, A., Maccaroni, M. Coramusi, A., Corazza, L., Pryor, B.M., and Figuli, P. 2004. First report of Alternaria species-groups involved in disease complexes of hazelnut and walnut fruit. Plant Dis. 88: 426.

Farrar, J. J., Pryor, B. M., and Davis, R. M. 2004. Alternaria diseases of carrot. Plant Dis. 88:776-784.

Pryor, B.M. and Bigelow, D. M. 2003. Molecular characterization of Embellisia and Nimbya species and their relationship to Alternaria, Ulocladium, and Stemphylium. Mycologia 95:1141-1154.

Pryor, B.M., Standberg, J. M., Davis, R. M., Nunez, J. J., and Gilbertson, R. L. 2002. Survival and persistence of Alternaria dauci in carrot cropping systems. Plant Dis. 86:1115-1122.

Pryor, B. M. and Michailides, T. J. 2002. Morphological, molecular, and pathogenic characterizations of Alternaria isolates associatied with Alternaria late blight of pistachio. Phytopathology 92:406-416.

Pryor, B. M. and Gilbertson, R. L. 2002. Relationships and taxonomic status of Alternaria radicina, A. carotiinculatae, and A. petroselini based upon morphological, biochemical, and molecular characteristics. Mycologia 94:49-61.

Strandberg, J. O. and Pryor, B. M. 2002. Alternaria blight of carrot. In Davis, M. and Datnov, L. W. eds. Compendium of Diseases of Carrot, Celery, and other Umbelliferous Crops. APS Press, St.Paul MN.

Pryor, B. M. 2002. Alternaria blight of parsley. In Davis, M. and Datnov, L. W. eds. Compendium of Diseases of Carrot, Celery, and other Umbelliferous Crops. APS Press, St.Paul MN.

Pryor, B. M. 2002. Black root rot of celery. In Davis, M. and Datnov, L. W. eds. Compendium of Diseases of Carrot, Celery, and other Umbelliferous Crops. APS Press, St.Paul MN.

Teviodale, B. L., Viveros, M., Pryor, B. M., and Adaskaveg, J. E. 2001. First report of Alternaria leaf spot of almonds caused by species in the Alternaria alternata complex in Califonia. Plant Dis. 85:558.

Pryor, B. M. and Gilbertson, R. L. 2001. A PCR-based assay for detection of Alternaria radicina from carrot seed. Plant Dis. 85:18-23

Pryor, B. M. and Gilbertson, R. L. 2000. Phylogenetic relationships among Alternaria and related fungi based upon analysis of nuclear internal transcribed sequences and mitochondrial small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences. Mycological Research 104:1312-1321.

Pryor, B. M., Davis, R. M., and Gilbertson, R. L. 2000. A toothpick inoculation method for evaluating carrot cultivars for resistance to Alternaria radicina. HortScience 35:1099-1102.

Pryor, B. M., Davis, R. M., and Gilbertson, R. L. 1998. Detection of soilborne Alternaria radicina and its occurrence in California carrot fields. Plant Disease 82:891-895.


For more information contact:

Dr. Barry Pryor
University of Arizona
303 Forbes Building
P.O. Box 210036
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036

Office Phone: (520)626-5312
Fax: (520)621-7186


http://cals.arizona.edu/PLP/faculty/pryor.html
last updated: November 20, 2007
© 2004 The University of Arizona. All contents copyrighted. All rights reserved.