Molly Bergum

I study the mechanism of resistance in barley conferred by a cell-surface receptor kinase (PUR1) and a novel grass-specific Exo70 (EXO70FX12). This durable form of resistance prevents a wheat-adapted fungus, wheat stripe rust, from completing its life cycle in barley. I am interested in using proteomics, confocal microscopy, and site-directed mutagenesis to understand the functions of immune proteins with the long-term goal of engineering durable resistance.