@article{kamau_waceke_cortada_mwaura_pirzada_sit_davis_guenther_mathew_pal_et al._2025, title={Efficacy of banana fibre paper for the management of the root-knot nematode,<i> Meloidogyne</i><i> incognita,</i> on potato (<i> Solanum</i><i> tuberosum)</i> in Kenya}, volume={27}, ISSN={["1388-5545"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1163/15685411-bja10367}, DOI={10.1163/15685411-bja10367}, abstractNote={Summary Globally, potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) is a key staple food crop. In Kenya, it is the second most important food crop after maize. Among the various constraints to potato production are plant-parasitic nematodes. In particular, root-knot nematodes ( Meloidogyne spp.) are a significant impediment to potato production, suppressing yield and reducing the quality of harvested tubers. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of a lignocellulose fibre matrix (banana paper) either impregnated with a chemical or drenched with a biologically-based nematicide for the management of root-knot nematodes on potatoes, in Kenya. The experiment was conducted in both field and pot trials over two consecutive cropping seasons. Wrapping seed potatoes in banana paper impregnated with abamectin or drenched with Trichoderma asperellum (Real Trichoderma ® ) led to suppression of soil Meloidogyne incognita densities by 87% and 68% in the field, and 86% and 40% in pots, respectively, which led to a 3.3- and 3.7-fold increase in yield in the field. This novel technology, also referred to as ‘Wrap & Plant’, presents a practical option for nematode management in potato under the resource-limited conditions of sub-Saharan Africa and offers potential for the targeted management of other soil-borne diseases.}, number={1}, journal={NEMATOLOGY}, author={Kamau, Dorris W. and Waceke, Wanjohi and Cortada, Laura and Mwaura, Onesmus and Pirzada, Tahira and Sit, Tim L. and Davis, Eric and Guenther, Dick and Mathew, Reny and Pal, Lokendra and et al.}, year={2025}, month={Dec}, pages={25–36} }
 @article{abad_burgess_bourret_bensch_cacciola_scanu_mathew_kasiborski_srivastava_kageyama_et al._2023, title={<i>Phytophthora</i>: taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of the genus}, volume={106}, ISSN={["1872-9797"]}, DOI={10.3114/sim.2023.106.05}, abstractNote={Many members of the}, journal={STUDIES IN MYCOLOGY}, author={Abad, Z. G. and Burgess, T. I. and Bourret, T. and Bensch, K. and Cacciola, S. O. and Scanu, B. and Mathew, R. and Kasiborski, B. and Srivastava, S. and Kageyama, K. and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Dec}, pages={259–348} }
 @article{newberry_srivastava_nunziata_mathew_mark_rivera_2023, title={Evaluation of Metabarcoding Methods for Plant Disease Surveillance}, volume={3}, ISSN={["2690-5442"]}, DOI={10.1094/PHYTOFR-01-23-0002-R}, abstractNote={Metabarcoding holds great potential for general plant pathogen surveillance by providing an untargeted profile of the host microbiome. However, the standard marker utilized for microbiome analysis of prokaryotes, the 16 rRNA gene, offers limited diagnostic utility as it provides phylogenetic resolution primarily at the genus level, and universal primers often co-amplify plant DNA. Here, we evaluated two recently published universal primer sets targeting the DNA gyrase and RNA polymerase ß subunit genes ( gyrB and rpoB, respectively), relative to a plant discriminating 16S primer set (799F/1115R), as disease surveillance tools. Comparative analysis of a mock bacterial community, as well as naturally infected citrus variegated chlorosis samples, indicated that the gyrB method displayed optimal performance in the amplification of DNA across a broad taxonomic spectrum of plant-pathogenic bacteria, providing resolution at the species and, in some cases, subspecies levels. It also generated high-quality datasets with minimal to no co-amplification of plant DNA, outperforming the rpoB and 16S assays in these regards. Further evaluation revealed that the gyrB method displayed an overall linear trend in the detection of several diverse bacterial pathogens; however, it was at least an order of magnitude less sensitive than a standard real-time PCR assay. Finally, we demonstrate the potential of this method to disentangle a mixed population of Pantoea spp. associated with a rice-bacterial blight outbreak and identify putative novel pathogens that would otherwise be overlooked with conventional PCR-based tests. This work represents steps toward establishing a robust, untargeted metabarcoding method for general plant disease surveillance. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .}, number={4}, journal={PHYTOFRONTIERS}, author={Newberry, Eric A. and Srivastava, Subodh and Nunziata, Schyler O. and Mathew, Reny and Mark, Nakhla and Rivera, Yazmin}, year={2023}, month={Dec}, pages={785–794} }
 @article{abad_burgess_redford_bienapfl_srivastava_mathew_jennings_2022, title={IDphy: An International Online Resource for Molecular and Morphological Identification of Phytophthora}, ISSN={["1943-7692"]}, DOI={10.1094/PDIS-02-22-0448-FE}, abstractNote={Phytophthora, with 203 species, is a genus of high importance in agriculture worldwide. Here, we present the online resource "IDphy", developed to facilitate the correct identification of species of Phytophthora using the type specimens from the original descriptions wherever possible. IDphy emphasizes species of high economic impact and regulatory concern for the United States. IDphy presents an interactive Lucid key and a tabular key for 161 culturable species described as of May 2018, including 141 ex-types and 20 well-authenticated specimens. IDphy contains standard operating procedures for morphological and molecular characterization, as well as a glossary, image gallery, and numerous links. Each of the 161 factsheets includes access to nomenclature and morphological and molecular features, including sequences of the internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA, cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (barcoding genes), YPT1, β-tubulin, elongation factor 1a, L10, heat shock protein 90, and other genes. IDphy contains an innovative in silico BLAST and phylogenetic sequence analysis using NCBI. The IDphy mobile app, released in August 2021 (free for Android or iOS), allows users to take the Lucid key into the laboratory. IDphy is the first online identification tool based on the ex-types implemented for plant pathogens. In this article, we also include information for 21 new species and one hybrid described after the publication of IDphy, the status of the specimens of the types and ex-types at international herbaria and culture collections, and the status of genomes at the GenBank (currently 153 genome assemblies which correspond to 42 described species, including 16 ex-types). The effectiveness of the IDphy online resource and the content of this article could inspire other researchers to develop additional identification tools for other important groups of plant pathogens.}, journal={PLANT DISEASE}, author={Abad, Z. Gloria and Burgess, Treena I. and Redford, Amanda J. and Bienapfl, John C. and Srivastava, Subodh and Mathew, Reny and Jennings, Krysta}, year={2022}, month={Jul} }
 @article{ochola_cortada_mwaura_tariku_christensen_ng'ang'a_hassanali_pirzada_khan_pal_et al._2022, title={Wrap-and-plant technology to manage sustainably potato cyst nematodes in East Africa}, volume={2}, ISSN={["2398-9629"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00852-5}, DOI={10.1038/s41893-022-00852-5}, abstractNote={Abstract Renewable eco-friendly options for crop protection are fundamental in achieving sustainable agriculture. Here, we demonstrate the use of a biodegradable lignocellulosic banana-paper matrix as a seed wrap for the protection of potato plants against potato cyst nematode (PCN), Globodera rostochiensis . Potato cyst nematodes are devastating quarantine pests of potato globally. In East Africa, G. rostochiensis has recently emerged as a serious threat to potato production. Wrapping seed potatoes within the lignocellulose banana-paper matrix substantially reduced G. rostochiensis field inoculum and increased potato yields by up to fivefold in Kenya, relative to farmer practice, whether or not impregnated with ultra-low doses of the nematicide abamectin (ABM). Markedly, ABM-treated banana paper at ~1,000 times lower than conventional recommendations reduced PCN inoculum. Assays and analyses revealed that the lignocellulose matrix disrupts parasite–host chemical signalling by adsorbing critical PCN hatching and infective juvenile host location chemicals present in potato root exudate. Recovery experiments confirmed adsorption of these host location chemicals. Our study demonstrates the use of waste organic material to sustainably manage PCN, and potentially other crop root pests, while increasing potato yields.}, journal={NATURE SUSTAINABILITY}, author={Ochola, Juliet and Cortada, Laura and Mwaura, Onesmus and Tariku, Meklit and Christensen, Shawn A. and Ng'ang'a, Margaret and Hassanali, Ahmed and Pirzada, Tahira and Khan, Saad and Pal, Lokendra and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Feb} }
 @article{pirzada_sohail_tripathi_farias_mathew_li_opperman_khan_2021, title={Toward Sustainable Crop Protection: Aqueous Dispersions of Biodegradable Particles with Tunable Release and Rainfastness}, volume={11}, ISSN={["1616-3028"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202108046}, DOI={10.1002/adfm.202108046}, abstractNote={Abstract Fabrication of aqueous particulate dispersions of biodegradable cellulose esters (CEs) as efficient carriers of agrochemical active‐ingredients (AIs) for foliar applications, is reported. The use of different ester substituent groups on CE permits modulation of particle morphology and size, from irregular shapes (<350 nm) to spheres (≈1.1 µm diameter), while maintaining stability as supported by minimal change in zeta potential and particle size over one year. Rainfastness is tested by simulating >50 mm h −1 rainfall on coated banana and tomato leaves and silicon. Surface coverage loss as low as 9%, based on the nature of leaf and formulation, confirms the rainfastness of the formulations. Variation in the release kinetics of a model AI fluopyram from different CEs can be attributed to the particle morphology and the nature of binding between fluopyram and various CEs. Thermodynamic analysis demonstrates spontaneous binding between fluopyram and multiple sites of CEs, justifying its two‐step release from CE particles. System functionalities are corroborated via in‐vitro fungal inhibition assays demonstrating a 100% inhibition of the fungal growth. This “lab‐to‐leaf” approach of materials development involving fundamental insights and functional performance reveals CE dispersions are promising green agricultural formulations with the potential to impact a myriad of crops around the globe.}, journal={ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Pirzada, Tahira and Sohail, Mariam and Tripathi, Anurodh and Farias, Barbara V and Mathew, Reny and Li, Chunying and Opperman, Charles H. and Khan, Saad A.}, year={2021}, month={Nov} }
 @misc{mathew_opperman_2020, title={Current Insights into Migratory Endoparasitism: Deciphering the Biology, Parasitism Mechanisms, and Management Strategies of Key Migratory Endoparasitic Phytonematodes}, volume={9}, ISSN={["2223-7747"]}, DOI={10.3390/plants9060671}, abstractNote={Despite their physiological differences, sedentary and migratory plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) share several commonalities. Functional characterization studies of key effectors and their targets identified in sedentary phytonematodes are broadly applied to migratory PPNs, generalizing parasitism mechanisms existing in distinct lifestyles. Despite their economic significance, host-pathogen interaction studies of migratory endoparasitic nematodes are limited; they have received little attention when compared to their sedentary counterparts. Because several migratory PPNs form disease complexes with other plant-pathogens, it is important to understand multiple factors regulating their feeding behavior and lifecycle. Here, we provide current insights into the biology, parasitism mechanism, and management strategies of the four-key migratory endoparasitic PPN genera, namely}, number={6}, journal={PLANTS-BASEL}, author={Mathew, Reny and Opperman, Charles H.}, year={2020}, month={Jun} }
 @article{mathew_opperman_2019, title={The genome of the migratory nematode, Radopholus similis, reveals signatures of close association to the sedentary cyst nematodes}, volume={14}, ISSN={["1932-6203"]}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0224391}, abstractNote={Radopholus similis, commonly known as the burrowing nematode, is an important pest of myriad crops and ornamentals including banana (Musa spp.) and Citrus spp. In order to characterize the potential role of putative effectors encoded by R. similis genes we compared predicted proteins from a draft R. similis genome with other plant-parasitic nematodes in order to define the suite of excreted/secreted proteins that enable it to function as a parasite and to ascertain the phylogenetic position of R. similis in the Tylenchida order. Identification and analysis of candidate genes encoding for key plant cell-wall degrading enzymes including GH5 cellulases, PL3 pectate lyases and GH28 polygalactouranase revealed a pattern of occurrence similar to other PPNs, although with closest phylogenetic associations to the sedentary cyst nematodes. We also observed the absence of a suite of effectors essential for feeding site formation in the cyst nematodes. Clustering of various orthologous genes shared by R. similis with other nematodes showed higher overlap with the cyst nematodes than with the root-knot or other migratory endoparasitic nematodes. The data presented here support the hypothesis that R. similis is evolutionarily closer to the cyst nematodes, however, differences in the effector repertoire delineate ancient divergence of parasitism, probably as a consequence of niche specialization. These similarities and differences further underscore distinct evolutionary relationships during the evolution of parasitism in this group of nematodes.}, number={10}, journal={PLOS ONE}, author={Mathew, Reny and Opperman, Charles H.}, year={2019}, month={Oct} }