Carlos Perez I am pursuing a Ph.D. degree in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Robert Blanchette. I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Uruguay (a small but wonderful country in South America), and I came to Minnesota in 2003 to start a M.S. degree program with Dr. Linda Kinkel and Ruth Dill-Macky. My area of interest was the interaction between streptomycetes and Fusarium graminearum, to minimize the impact of Fusarium Head Blight on wheat. I completed that degree program in 2005. When I applied to this Department, I based my decision on its history and present status. I have known many alumni from this Department who have gone on to achieve great things after completing their degree. This demonstrated to me the strength of the Graduate Progam. From my time here, I can attest to the excellence of the Department. I was more than pleased with the M.S. program and that is why I am continuing on at Minnesota to finish my Ph.D. degree.
One of the highlights of my graduate education was the chance to complete an internship at a center of excellence. In October 2005, I was awarded an internship to study in the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. My exceptional host was Dr. Michael Wingfield (an alumnus from the Department) University of Pretoria Main Entrance FABI Main Entrance
Objective of this internship: My goal was to learn all about field and laboratory work, including sampling size, isolation, conservation, and molecular techniques for accurate species identification and genome comparison. Moreover, it was also my goal to know other countries, other cultures, and other people. Why FABI? My Ph.D. thesis research is focused on the identification of pathogens that could be coming from native Myrtaceae trees to infect the introduced Eucalyptus trees in Uruguay. Briefly, my research project will try to identify where different pathogens are coming from, and where to look for pathogen genetic variation when generating information to support breeding programs. Dr. Michael Wingfield holds a great deal of experience in studying Eucalyptus diseases in the Southern Hemisphere and will be actively participating in my research project. In addition, his group is working on a similar project in South Africa.
I spent two weeks at FABI and had daily meetings with 12 different expert scientists working on: Botryosphaeria, Coniothyrium, Cylindrocladium, Mycosphaerella, Chrysoporthe, Cryphonectria, Ophiostoma, Ceratocystis and rusts. Gilbert Kamgan showing a pathogenicity test with Ceratocystis isolates Fruitful meeting with Bernard Slippers, discussing Botryosphaeria and emerging disease issues Lab work with Marieka Gryzenhout. Looking for perithecia of Cryphonectria on infected eucalyptus bark
Then, I spent one week on a field trip to KwaZulu- Natal, visiting nurseries and commercial plantations, where I learned about collecting methods, symptoms identification, and also forestry production systems in South Africa. SAPPI nursery in KwaMbonambi Looking for diseases in a Clone Bank with Donald Heath and Izette Greyling MONDI nursery in KwaMbonambi An innovative project with a hydroponic system Botryosphaeria cankers on Eucalyptus
Kino pockets on Eucalyptus trunk as a reaction to Botryosphaeria infection Chrysoporthe canker on Eucalyptus Kino pockets on Eucalyptus trunk, but in this case is a reaction to Coniothyrium infection Resistant material to Chrysoporthe (I mean the tree)
Also, some time for fun Main entrance to the Park View points to appreciate the whole park Visit to Pilanesberg National Park Elephants walking around Lions enjoying the parade of visitors
More information about Dr. Blanchette s lab and our research project may be found at the following web site: http://forestpathology.coafes.umn.edu/ Thanks for visiting me!!!