Tom Harrington - Forest Pathology and Mycology

Thomas C. Harrington. Research on the evolution and ecology of forest pathogens and other fungi, including Ceratocystis, Ophiostoma, Heterobasidion and Armillaria, bluestain, bark beetle fungi, diseases of poplar and soybean, and the role of disease in forest ecosystems.

Iowa State University, Department of Plant Pathology
221 Bessey Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011
Office: 515-294-0582, FAX: 515-294-9420
e-mail:tcharrin@iastate.edu
Tom Harrington received his B.S. Degree in Plant Pathology from Colorado State University in 1977, his M.S. in Plant Pathology from Washington State University in 1980, and his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1983. He was on the faculty of the University of New Hampshire from 1983 through 1990. He has been a member of the ISU Plant Pathology Department since 1991 and has had a joint appointment in the ISU Forestry Department since 1996. The Forestry Department merged with Animal Ecology to form the new Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department. He is also a member of: The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Major, and The Microbiology major. Click on the links above to see the graduate programs in which my students can major.

My recent graduate students were Dan Thorpe, Jason Johnson, and Christine (Baker) Engelbrecht. Current students are Roberto Ocasio and Sujin Kim.

For photographs of people, places, plants:
People (Updated June 2005)

Cacao History

Descriptions, Publications, and Images Concerning Specific Research Projects Can be Found by Clicking the Topic Below (some journal articles and book chapters are available in PDF format) Ceratocystis and Mating Genetics Poplar Diseases (microsatellites for Melampsora spp.) Ophiostoma, Raffaelea, Leptographium, Sphaeropsis, Amylostereum: Bark and ambrosia beetle fungi, bluestain fungi, horntail fungi, and other insect-associated fungi Also, a special page for laurel wilt Species Concepts, Canopy Gaps, Forest Ecology, Wind, Cryphonectria, and Techniques [(CAT)5, mtDNA, microsatellites, etc.] Heterobasidion, Armillaria, and Other Root and Butt Rot Fungi Soorty blotch/Flyspeck, Cercospora, Cadophora, Phialophora and Soybean Diseases


Disease Illustrations and Downloadable Book Chapters:
Illustrations of various
Diseases caused by Ceratocystis
can be found through this link. Diseases of cacao, inhame, sweet potato, mango, coffee, aspen, sycamore, hickory, almond, maple, Nothofagus, palms, and oak are illustrated thus far.

Our work on Ceratocystis species has been supported bythe National Science Foundation (DEB-9870675 and DEB-0128104).

A review of the liturature on

Ceratocystis fimbriata

and the diseases caused by this complex of species, initially prepared for CABI's 2001 Crop Protection Compendium, revised for the 2004 compendium, and updated frequently on this site:

Text

References

Photos

Ceratocystis wilt of cacao
(Theobroma cacao, the tree that gives us chocolate) has been added. This gives more detailed information on Ceratocystis fimbriata in cacao, especially in Bahia, Brazil.
Images of: Diseases and pine ecology can be found here. They go with the book chapter to the right: Available in PDF format: Harrington, T. C., and M. J. Wingfield. 1998. Diseases and the ecology of indigenous and exotic pines. pp. 381-404 In: D. Richardson, ed. Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus. Cambridge University Press.Simply click on icon to download: To find out more about the book, check with Cambridge University Press.
Also available in PDF format: Harrington, T. C., and D. M. Rizzo. 1999. Defining species in the fungi. pp. 43-71 In: J. J. Worrall, ed., Structure and Dynamics of Fungal Populations, Kluwer Press. Dordrecht, Netherlands. Simply click on icon to download:
Also available in PDF format: Paine, T. D., K. F. Raffa, and T. C. Harrington. 1997. Interactions among scolytid bark beetles, their associated fungi, and live host conifers. Annual Rev. Entomol. 42:179-206. Simply click on icon to download:


There is a great web site on the Trees of the ISU Campus!
Graduate Research Assistantships are available on a competitive basis for M.S. or Ph.D. students to work on forest pathology and mycology projects. I am looking for highly motivated students with good communication skills. A generous stipend, good working environment, and four majors to choose from make this a good opportunity for students wanting to combine molecular genetics with ecology. E-mail me for more information. And Ames is not that bad a place to live!
(Information on Ames, Iowa can be found by clicking on the Iowa map. )


LINKS TO:
ISU Plant Pathology Department Mycological Society of America Homepage APSnet

e-mail:tcharrin@iastate.edu

This page updated January 9, 2009