Dr. Peter Cotty
Research Plant Pathologist
Agricultural Research Service
USDA
Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology
Adjunct Professor

Marley Building, Room 341B
Phone: (502) 626-5049
Email: pjcotty@email.arizona.edu
 

Visit these web-sites to learn more about Dr. Cotty and his research

 
   
Background and Interests
 
Research: Aflatoxin contamination of crops is a severe problem in many parts of the world. Over the next five years we hope to develop improved methods for limiting aflatoxin contamination. Our research is directed at developing solutions to aflatoxin problems through both practical field based studies and fundamental investigations into the physiology, genetics, and biology of aflatoxin producing fungi. Field based studies emphasize industry collaborations in Arizona, Texas, and California. A key aspect of the lab's work is development of novel biocontrol strategies through close collaborations with the Arizona Cotton Research and Protection Council including development of commercial scale processes for producing biocontrol material at a grower-run facility in Phoenix. Fundamental aspects include regulation of aflatoxin biosynthesis and it's interaction with morphogenesis, divergence of aflatoxin producing fungi, hydrolase production by aflatoxin producers, identification of adaptive fungal characters, characterization of host-fungal interactions that dictate extent of contamination, epidemiology of aflatoxin contamination, and population biology of aflatoxin producers. For over a decade the laboratory has been involved in characterizing the diversity of aflatoxin producers, clarifying the etiology of contamination, describing geographical and physiological divergence among strains. This work continues and interests in both vegetative incompatibility and intra-specific competition within Aspergillus flavus remain an emphasis.

 
Selected Publications
 

Bock, C.H. and Cotty, P.J.. Feb 1999. Wheat seed colonized with atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus: characterization and production of a biopesticide for aflatoxin control. Biocontrol Science and Technology, 9:529-543

Orum, T. V., Bigelow, D. M., Cotty, P. J., and Nelson, M. R.. Feb 1999. Using predictions based on geostatistics to monitor trends in Aspergillus flavus strain composition. Phytopathology, 89:761-769

Bock, C.H., and Cotty, P.J.. Feb 1999. The Relationship of Gin Date to Aflatoxin Contamination of Cottonseed in Arizona. Plant Disease, 279-285

Feibelman, Toby P., Cotty, P. J., Doster, M.A., Michailides, T.J.. Mar 1998. A morphologically distinct strain of Aspergillus nomius. Mycologia, 90 (4):618-623

Mellon, J.E., and Cotty, P.J.. Feb 1998. Effects of oilseed storage proteins on aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus. Journal of American Oil Chemists Society, 75:1085-1089

Shieh MT, Brown RL, Whitehead MP, Cary JW, Cotty PJ, Cleveland TE, Dean RA. Sep 1997. Molecular genetic evidence for the involvement of a specific polygalacturonase, P2c, in the invasion and spread of Aspergillus flavus in cotton bolls. Appl Environ Microbiol, 63:3548-52

Cotty, P.J.. Aug 1997. Aflatoxin-producing potential of communities of Aspergillus section Flavi from cotton producing areas in the United States. Mycol. Res., 101:698-704

Garber, R.K., and Cotty, P.J.. Feb 1997. Formation of sclerotia and aflatoxins in developing cotton bolls infected by the S strain of Aspergillus flavus and potential for biocontrol with an atoxigenic strain. Phytopathology, 87:940-945

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