Person

Meg Staton

Associate Professor | Entomology and Plant Pathology

Specialization: Bioinformatics & Computational Genomics

Overview

I earned my B.S. in Computer Science and Ph.D. in Plant and Environmental Science from Clemson University. I joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2014 where I lead a research and teaching program focused on plant computational genomics.

Tree health – in forests, urban landscapes and orchards - is critically endangered from increasing numbers of invasive pests and pathogens as well as abiotic stresses such as drought. Genetic and genomic tools hold great promise to understand and combat the rising levels of native plant mortality, particularly for woody perennial plants with long generation times and resource intensive breeding programs. Plant breeders and forest managers are beginning to integrate molecular information into breeding, genetic improvement, and conservation/management programs. Web portals and software tools to support field work, including observational data and sampling, are needed to scale up research projects and engage citizen scientists in scouting for trees of interest to scientists. My teaching, outreach, and teaching focus on these critical, synergistic activities to promote forest health.

Research Focus

My program uses bioinformatic approaches to build foundational genomic resources and understand the molecular underpinnings of important tree crop phenotypes, including pest/pathogen resistance and ornamental traits.

Outreach Focus

Custom mobile apps and online tools can not only educate the public about science but engage them in collecting data. The success of our original outreach mobile app, TreeSnap, has led to many new collaborations to build mobile app/web platforms.

Research Questions
  • What are the species boundaries and genetic diversity of Fraxinus species (ashes) native to North America, and what is the genetic architecture of emerald ash borer (EAB) resistance?
  • How have Quercus (oak) species evolved? Do the patterns of genomic introgression arising from the white oak and red oak syngameon (formed by sympatric species with low levels of hybridization) harbor evidence that oak species have and are sharing genetic elements that contribute to adaptation?
  • What are the genetic loci controlling ornamental traits, such as pigmentation and architecture, prized in ornamental tree breeding?
  • Can a graph-based super pangenome in an interspecific breeding program be used to reduce reference genome bias and more accurately impute structural variation using short read DNA sequencing?
  • What is the genetic architecture of huanglongbing (citrus greening) tolerance in Australian Citrus species and how can it be efficiently deployed into Citrus cultivars?
Courses
Below are courses taught during the current or past three academic years. Consult Timetable for the most current listing of courses and instructor(s).
EPP 531 - Special Problems in Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology
1 - 3 credit hours

Comprehensive individual study of current problems.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 9 hours.

Other Instructors: Bernard, Ernest Charles | Hajimorad, Reza | Shirsekar, Gautam | Gerhold Jr, Richard William | Kelly, Heather Marie | Grant, Jerome F | Coffman, Kelsey

EPP 604 - Advanced Topics in Plant Pathology
1 - 3 credit hours

Biological control, disease diagnosis and management, epidemiology, fungal plant pathogens, integrated pest management, molecular plant-microbe interactions, plant pathogenesis, plant pathogenic bacteria, soil- and seed-borne pathogens, and virology.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 12 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level - graduate.

Other Instructors: Lamour, Kurt H

EPP 622 - Bioinformatics Applications
3 credit hour(s)

Fundamental bioinformatics concepts, principles and techniques with a focus on the application of bioinformatics to problems in agriculture. Laboratory practical will be taught within a LINUX computational environment where students will gain basic skills in bash and python scripting and construction open source-software based workflows to analyze genomic data.

Contact Hour Distribution: 2 hours lecture and 2 hours lab-.
(DE) Prerequisite(s): Life Sciences 520 or introductory genetics course.
Registration Restriction(s): minimum student level – graduate.

EPP 640 - Seminar
1 credit hour(s)

Presentation of research proposals and research (dissertation or thesis) seminars by students. Presentations on current topics by outside speakers.

Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 4 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level - graduate.

Other Instructors: Owings, Charity Grace | Onufrak, Aaron John

Picture of Meg Staton
355 Agriculture and Natural Resource
2431 Joe Johnson Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Education and Training
  • Doctorate, Plant and Environmental Science, Clemson University, 2007
  • BS, Computer Science, Clemson University, 2003
Lab Members
Florence Caldwell
Holly Brabazon
Allyson Marie Dekovich
Meher Afroze Ony
Zane Cole Smith
Trinity Paige Hamm
Patrick Sisler
Chance Stribling

Meg Staton

Associate Professor | Entomology and Plant Pathology
Picture of Meg Staton image
355 Agriculture and Natural Resource
2431 Joe Johnson Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Education and Training
  • Doctorate, Plant and Environmental Science, Clemson University, 2007
  • BS, Computer Science, Clemson University, 2003
Overview

I earned my B.S. in Computer Science and Ph.D. in Plant and Environmental Science from Clemson University. I joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2014 where I lead a research and teaching program focused on plant computational genomics.

Tree health – in forests, urban landscapes and orchards - is critically endangered from increasing numbers of invasive pests and pathogens as well as abiotic stresses such as drought. Genetic and genomic tools hold great promise to understand and combat the rising levels of native plant mortality, particularly for woody perennial plants with long generation times and resource intensive breeding programs. Plant breeders and forest managers are beginning to integrate molecular information into breeding, genetic improvement, and conservation/management programs. Web portals and software tools to support field work, including observational data and sampling, are needed to scale up research projects and engage citizen scientists in scouting for trees of interest to scientists. My teaching, outreach, and teaching focus on these critical, synergistic activities to promote forest health.

Research Focus

My program uses bioinformatic approaches to build foundational genomic resources and understand the molecular underpinnings of important tree crop phenotypes, including pest/pathogen resistance and ornamental traits.

Outreach Focus

Custom mobile apps and online tools can not only educate the public about science but engage them in collecting data. The success of our original outreach mobile app, TreeSnap, has led to many new collaborations to build mobile app/web platforms.

Research Questions
  • What are the species boundaries and genetic diversity of Fraxinus species (ashes) native to North America, and what is the genetic architecture of emerald ash borer (EAB) resistance?
  • How have Quercus (oak) species evolved? Do the patterns of genomic introgression arising from the white oak and red oak syngameon (formed by sympatric species with low levels of hybridization) harbor evidence that oak species have and are sharing genetic elements that contribute to adaptation?
  • What are the genetic loci controlling ornamental traits, such as pigmentation and architecture, prized in ornamental tree breeding?
  • Can a graph-based super pangenome in an interspecific breeding program be used to reduce reference genome bias and more accurately impute structural variation using short read DNA sequencing?
  • What is the genetic architecture of huanglongbing (citrus greening) tolerance in Australian Citrus species and how can it be efficiently deployed into Citrus cultivars?
Courses
Below are courses taught during the current or past three academic years. Consult Timetable for the most current listing of courses and instructor(s).
EPP 531 - Special Problems in Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology
1 - 3 credit hours

Comprehensive individual study of current problems.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 9 hours.

Other Instructors: Bernard, Ernest Charles | Hajimorad, Reza | Shirsekar, Gautam | Gerhold Jr, Richard William | Kelly, Heather Marie | Grant, Jerome F | Coffman, Kelsey

EPP 604 - Advanced Topics in Plant Pathology
1 - 3 credit hours

Biological control, disease diagnosis and management, epidemiology, fungal plant pathogens, integrated pest management, molecular plant-microbe interactions, plant pathogenesis, plant pathogenic bacteria, soil- and seed-borne pathogens, and virology.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 12 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level - graduate.

Other Instructors: Lamour, Kurt H

EPP 622 - Bioinformatics Applications
3 credit hour(s)

Fundamental bioinformatics concepts, principles and techniques with a focus on the application of bioinformatics to problems in agriculture. Laboratory practical will be taught within a LINUX computational environment where students will gain basic skills in bash and python scripting and construction open source-software based workflows to analyze genomic data.

Contact Hour Distribution: 2 hours lecture and 2 hours lab-.
(DE) Prerequisite(s): Life Sciences 520 or introductory genetics course.
Registration Restriction(s): minimum student level – graduate.

EPP 640 - Seminar
1 credit hour(s)

Presentation of research proposals and research (dissertation or thesis) seminars by students. Presentations on current topics by outside speakers.

Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 4 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level - graduate.

Other Instructors: Owings, Charity Grace | Onufrak, Aaron John

Lab Members
Florence Caldwell
Holly Brabazon
Allyson Marie Dekovich
Meher Afroze Ony
Zane Cole Smith
Trinity Paige Hamm
Patrick Sisler
Chance Stribling