Action Plan

to developing effective disease management is an understanding of the genetics, ecology, and epidemiology of pathogens; how the changing environment affects the spread of plant pathogens; and an in-depth knowledge of the fundamental biology of pathogen-host-vector interactions and the phytobiome. Therefore, NP 303 will also investigate the molecular, genomic, cellular, and organismal aspects of plant pathogens, plant-associated microbes, and their interactions with plant hosts; interactions of pathogens with vectors (including vector-plant interactions as they influence pathogen transmission and disease development and alternative hosts); ecology, epidemiology, and spread of pathogens and vectors; and impact of climate change on pathogens, their vectors, and disease expression. key mechanisms and components of disease development, virulence, and pathogen transmission.