■■ Genomic characterization of the conditionally dispensable chromosome in Alternaria arborescens
provides evidence for horizontal gene transfer. T. MITCHELL, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, U.S.A.
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“Left of Boom!” Information: Form, Content, and Use in Epidemic Prediction Organizers: Neil McRoberts and Carla Thomas, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A. Section: Ecology and Epidemiology Sponsors: Epidemiology; Regulatory Plant Pathology; Diagnostics; Emerging Diseases and Pathogens; Forest Pathology; Crop Loss Assessment and Evaluation When considering epidemic timelines, events prior to an outbreak are considered to be to the left of the event (the Boom!). New approaches often use textual, qualitative information from informal nonreviewed sources and have potential to be used for prediction in similar ways to quantitative data. This session will examine new approaches and relate them to traditional approaches to disease detection and prediction and highlight common information across these methods using case studies. ■■ Information in novel, multiscale epidemiological models. P. SKELSEY, Kansas State University,
Manhattan, KS, U.S.A. ■■ Transportation grids as early indicators and warning. T. GOTTWALD, USDA ARS, Ft. Pierce, FL, U.S.A. ■■ Emergence of unified concepts of disease in textual diagnostic data. C. THOMAS, University of California,
Davis, CA, U.S.A. ■■ Emergence of signals from open-source data: Disease surveillance. N. NELSON, Georgetown University
Medical Center, Washington, DC, U.S.A. ■■ Putting information to use: Decisions at different scales. S. SAVARY, Centre INRA de Toulouse Midi-
Pyrénées, Castanet Tolosan, Cedex, France
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The National Clean Plant Network: Ensuring Disease-Free, Vegetatively Propagated Fruit Tree Planting Stock Organizer: Nancy Osterbauer, Oregon Dept. of Agriculture, Salem, OR, U.S.A. Section: Disease Control and Pest Management Sponsors: Regulatory Plant Pathology; Public Policy Board Financial Sponsor: USDA APHIS The session introduces APS members to the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN). The NCPN is an association of specialty crop networks that promote the use of pathogen-tested, healthy plant material for clonally grown food crops in the United States. The NCPN-Fruit Tree commodity group will be presenting. Speakers will present a case study on Plum pox virus, introduce new threats to the fruit tree industry, describe how NCPN would address such threats, and discuss the economic and other benefits to industry of the NCPN. 12
■■ The National Clean Plant Network. E. RUDYJ, USDA APHIS, Riverdale, MD, U.S.A. ■■ Plum pox virus case study: The eradication road is paved in gold. R. WELLIVER, Pennsylvania Dept. of
Agriculture, Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A. ■■ New threats on the horizon for the fruit tree industry. M. FUCHS, Cornell University, Geneva, NY, U.S.A. ■■ Diagnosing and cleaning up viruses in imported fruit tree nursery stock. K. EASTWELL, Washington
State University, Prosser, WA, U.S.A. ■■ Quantifying the economic benefit of a clean plant network. C. SEAVERT, Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR, U.S.A. ■■ The industry’s perspective on the National Clean Plant Network. W. GALE, Summit Tree Sales, Lawrence, MI, U.S.A.
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New Insights into the Virulence Mechanism of Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria Organizers: Nian Wang, University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, U.S.A.; Jong Hyun Ham, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, U.S.A. Section: Biology of Pathogens Sponsor: Bacteriology Understanding the mechanisms for virulence may lead to the design of improved disease control strategies. This session will present the latest advances in selected important areas that made significant progress in understanding the virulence mechanism and new approaches used to further promote the study in this area. This has broad impact in research areas far beyond bacteriology and promotes the research in understanding the host defense and suppressing the bacterial virulence. ■■ The role of the type III secretion system in necrotic pathogens. A. CHARKOWSKI, University of
Wisconsin, Madison, WI, U.S.A. ■■ Insights into the virulence mechanism of Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri. N. WANG, University of Florida,
Lake Alfred, FL, U.S.A. ■■ Ooze and rots: How enteric plant pathogens utilize cyclic di-GMP, small RNAs, and quorum sensing to
regulate major virulence genes. G. SUNDIN, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A. ■■ The role of the cell surface lipopolysaccharide molecule in Xylella fastidiosa biofilm formation and
virulence in the grapevine host. C. ROPER, University of California, Riverside, CA, U.S.A. ■■ Global regulatory network for the virulence of Burkholderia glumae, the major causal agent of
bacterial panicle blight of rice. J. H. HAM, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, U.S.A. ■■ How high-throughput sequencing technology helps our understanding of plant-pathogenic bacteria
(overview). J. JONES, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.
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