Gayan Kanishka Kariyawasam
Specialization: Molecular plant-fungal pathogen interactions
I joined the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee in February 2024 as an Assistant Professor in Plant Pathology. I am originally from Sri Lanka, where I obtained my BS in Plant Science from the University of Colombo. Then I moved to Fargo, North Dakota in 2013 for my graduate studies, where I earned both an MS (2015) and a Ph.D. (2018) in Plant Pathology from North Dakota State University. Then I joined the Cereal Crops Research Unit at the U.S Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and completed my post-doctoral training under Dr. Timothy Friesen for 4.5 years.
The innate immune system of plants has evolved to recognize plant pathogenic fungi, triggering a robust defense response that typically restricts the growth and reproduction of the pathogen. Plant pathogenic fungi have co-evolved effector molecules, including proteins, secondary metabolites and small RNA, to escape, suppress or manipulate the plant immune system in order to establish the disease and complete their life cycle. My research aims to understand the events occurring in both the host and the pathogen during the infection process at a molecular level using, genetics, genomics and molecular biology, and transform the knowledge gained to devising disease management strategies.
My lab focuses on:
- Identifying novel sources of genetic resistance to fungal pathogens in soybean, corn and cotton.
- Identification of fungal effectors and their role in fungal virulence.
- Use of effectors to identify corresponding resistance genes or susceptibility genes for marker assisted breeding.
- Understanding fungal genome evolution that drives fungicide resistance in plant pathogenic fungi.
In all aspects of our research, we use classical genetics, functional molecular biology, microscopy, and next-generation sequencing techniques to dissect these complex host-pathogen interactions. We use soybean- Cercospora sojina (frogeye leaf spot) and soybean-Septoria glycines (Brown spot) pathosystems to investigate host-pathogen interactions with an emphasis on identifying effectors and components of host immune system involved in perceiving such effectors that lead to susceptibility or resistance. Our goal is to equip plant geneticists and breeders with genetic and biochemical tools to deploy host resistance against fungal pathogens, benefiting growers locally and globally.
I focus on equipping students with fundamental knowledge and encouraging students to use that knowledge either to adapt to the rapidly evolving world or employ critical thinking to address questions significant to agriculture and society.
My research aims to understand infection processes at a molecular level in both hosts and pathogens. By utilizing genetics, genomics, and molecular biology, I develop effective disease management strategies.
- How do plant pathogenic fungi overcome and modulate the plant immune system using fungal effectors?
- How does fungal evolution drive the evolution of effectors to be more effective?
- What are the transcriptional changes in host induced during the fungal infection by the fungal effectors?
- How does the evolution of fungal genome impact the fungal virulence on plants?
- How do fungi evolve resistance to fungicides?
- How can we utilize the knowledge of resistance/susceptibility gene-effector interactions to breed host genetic resistance against plant pathogenic fungi?
2505 E J Chapman Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4500
- PhD, Plant Pathology/Phytopathology, North Dakota St U Fargo, 2018
Gayan Kanishka Kariyawasam
2505 E J Chapman Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4500
- PhD, Plant Pathology/Phytopathology, North Dakota St U Fargo, 2018
I joined the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee in February 2024 as an Assistant Professor in Plant Pathology. I am originally from Sri Lanka, where I obtained my BS in Plant Science from the University of Colombo. Then I moved to Fargo, North Dakota in 2013 for my graduate studies, where I earned both an MS (2015) and a Ph.D. (2018) in Plant Pathology from North Dakota State University. Then I joined the Cereal Crops Research Unit at the U.S Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and completed my post-doctoral training under Dr. Timothy Friesen for 4.5 years.
The innate immune system of plants has evolved to recognize plant pathogenic fungi, triggering a robust defense response that typically restricts the growth and reproduction of the pathogen. Plant pathogenic fungi have co-evolved effector molecules, including proteins, secondary metabolites and small RNA, to escape, suppress or manipulate the plant immune system in order to establish the disease and complete their life cycle. My research aims to understand the events occurring in both the host and the pathogen during the infection process at a molecular level using, genetics, genomics and molecular biology, and transform the knowledge gained to devising disease management strategies.
My lab focuses on:
- Identifying novel sources of genetic resistance to fungal pathogens in soybean, corn and cotton.
- Identification of fungal effectors and their role in fungal virulence.
- Use of effectors to identify corresponding resistance genes or susceptibility genes for marker assisted breeding.
- Understanding fungal genome evolution that drives fungicide resistance in plant pathogenic fungi.
In all aspects of our research, we use classical genetics, functional molecular biology, microscopy, and next-generation sequencing techniques to dissect these complex host-pathogen interactions. We use soybean- Cercospora sojina (frogeye leaf spot) and soybean-Septoria glycines (Brown spot) pathosystems to investigate host-pathogen interactions with an emphasis on identifying effectors and components of host immune system involved in perceiving such effectors that lead to susceptibility or resistance. Our goal is to equip plant geneticists and breeders with genetic and biochemical tools to deploy host resistance against fungal pathogens, benefiting growers locally and globally.
I focus on equipping students with fundamental knowledge and encouraging students to use that knowledge either to adapt to the rapidly evolving world or employ critical thinking to address questions significant to agriculture and society.
My research aims to understand infection processes at a molecular level in both hosts and pathogens. By utilizing genetics, genomics, and molecular biology, I develop effective disease management strategies.
- How do plant pathogenic fungi overcome and modulate the plant immune system using fungal effectors?
- How does fungal evolution drive the evolution of effectors to be more effective?
- What are the transcriptional changes in host induced during the fungal infection by the fungal effectors?
- How does the evolution of fungal genome impact the fungal virulence on plants?
- How do fungi evolve resistance to fungicides?
- How can we utilize the knowledge of resistance/susceptibility gene-effector interactions to breed host genetic resistance against plant pathogenic fungi?