| Professor, Dept. Plant Pathology, UW-Madison
1630 Linden Drive (608) 263-2097 790 Russell Laboratories jeri.barak@wisc.edu |
https://plantpath.wisc.edu/faculty/professor-jeri-barak/
- BS 1993, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA; Major: Marine Biology, English, Minor: Chemistry
- PhD 2000, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA; Department of Plant Pathology
Bacterial colonization of plants with a focus on food safety of fresh produce
Jeri has pioneered studies of plant colonization mechanisms by the plant symbiont Salmonella enterica. Our lab studies the biology of S. enterica in both the phyllosphere and rhizosphere. We have been able to fill out missing components of the S. enterica life cycle by characterizing molecular components used specifically in association with plants and diverse animal niches (e.g., mice and insects).
Although the study of S. enterica alone in plant – microbe interactions has been interesting and enlightening, it’s unlikely that this human pathogen encounters a plant host without a native microbiome or insect infestation. Our investigations now turn to the more complicated (and probably more natural) scenario with multiple interactors such as phytopathogenic bacteria and phytophagous insects. This work is allowing us to add details to the S. enterica life cycle that has been overlooked: Hemipterans and phytopathogenic bacteria as biomultipliers of S. enterica in the phyllosphere and the capacity of phytophagous Hemipterans to vector S. enterica among plants.
- Dixon MH, Nellore D, Zaacks SC, Barak JD 2024. Time of arrival during plant disease progression and humidity additively influence colonization of lettuce. Applied and environmental microbiology 90((9)):e0131124 PMC9381498
- Dixon MH, Cowles KN, Zaacks SC, Marciniak IN, Barak JD 2022. Infection Transforms the Apoplast into an Accessible and Habitable Niche for Salmonella enterica. Applied and environmental microbiology 88((22)):e0133022 PMC126431
- Harrod VL, Groves RL, Guillemette EG, Barak JD 2022. Salmonella enterica changes Macrosteles quadrilineatus feeding behaviors resulting in altered S. enterica distribution on leaves and increased populations. Scientific reports 12((1)):8544 PMC9122940
- Cowles KN, Block AK, Barak JD 2022. Xanthomonas hortorum pv. gardneri TAL effector AvrHah1 is necessary and sufficient for increased persistence of Salmonella enterica on tomato leaves. Scientific reports 12((1)):7313 PMC9068798
- Harrod VL, Groves RL, Maurice MA, Barak JD 2021. Frankliniella occidentalis facilitate Salmonella enterica survival in the phyllosphere. PloS one 16((2)):e0247325 PMC7895381
- Cowles KN, Groves RL, Barak JD 2018. Leafhopper-Induced Activation of the Jasmonic Acid Response Benefits in a Flagellum-Dependent Manner. Front Microbiol 9:1987 (PMC6115507)
- Kwan G, Plagenz B, Cowles K, Pisithkul T, Amador-Noguez D, Barak JD 2018. Few Differences in Metabolic Network Use Found Between Colonization of Plants and Typhoidal Mice. Front Microbiol 9:695 (PMC5951976)
- Potnis N, Colee J, Jones JB, Barak JD 2015. Plant pathogen-induced water-soaking promotes Salmonella enterica growth on tomato leaves. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 81(23):8126-34 (PMC4651078)
- Cowles KN, Willis DK, Engel TN, Jones JB, Barak JD 2015. Diguanylate Cyclases AdrA and STM1987 Regulate Salmonella enterica Exopolysaccharide Production during Plant Colonization in an Environment-Dependent Manner. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 82(4):1237-48 (PMC4751842)
- Potnis N, Timilsina S, Strayer A, Shantharaj D, Barak JD, Paret ML, Vallad GE, Jones JB 2015. Bacterial spot of tomato and pepper: diverse Xanthomonas species with a wide variety of virulence factors posing a worldwide challenge. Mol. Plant Pathol. 16(9):907-20
- View all Publications @ PubMed