Have you ever noticed little white fluffy spots or yellowish patches on your lettuce at the grocery store? This could be downy mildew, a microbe that infects lettuce and other leafy greens.
This microbe might not be well-known, but it’s of great importance due to its effects on the agriculture industry and the food we buy. It poses a significant challenge for farmers by potentially wiping out entire crops. If we unknowingly purchase lettuce or herbs infected with downy mildew from the organic section, we might end up with unappealing produce.
Understanding downy mildew can help us make informed choices at the store and gain insight into the challenges faced by farmers in controlling this pathogen.
So, in this episode we’ll learn about downy mildew from plant pathology researcher Dr. Kelsey Wood. She’ll explain what this organism is, how to identify it, and the latest research aiming to control it in a more sustainable way. We’ll also cover its life cycle, genetics, and impacts on agriculture. Tune in to discover this intriguing plant pathogen.
Topics covered in this episode:
- What downy mildew is and its life cycle
- Why downy mildew is not a fungus
- How downy mildew spreads
- Downy mildew’s impact on agriculture
- Spotting downy mildew in your local grocery store
- Discovering a highly resistant lettuce variety
- At-home microbiology activities: grocery store hunt and vinegar wash experiment
Listen to my episode with Dr. Kelsey Wood
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Links & Resources
This post contains affiliate links — see my disclosure policy.
- Book: Natural Defense: Enlisting Bugs and Germs to Protect Our Food and Health by Emily Monosson – explores the connection between farming, microbiome, and human health
- Book: The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan – chapter on potatoes discusses the Irish Potato Famine and the late blight pathogen
- Resource on lettuce downy mildew
- More on food safety: Understanding Food Safety with Chicken: From Farm to Fork
- Articles based on this episode:
- Downy Mildew: A Plant Pathogen Targeting Your Lettuce
- At-home microbiology activity: Downy Mildew Grocery Store Hunt
- At-home microbiology activity: Does a vinegar wash prevent mold on your strawberries?
Connect with Dr. Kelsey Wood
Dr. Kelsey Wood grew up in Boise, ID, where she became fascinated with plants, animals, and mushrooms from a young age during camping trips and while exploring the ecological habitat of her own backyard. She attended Reed College in Portland, OR, where she had her first taste of genomics research during her senior thesis on the behavioral genomics of cichlid fish with Dr. Suzy Renn. After graduation, she returned to Boise, where she began working with potatoes at a biotechnology company called Simplot Plant Sciences. This was her first introduction to the microscopic battle between plants and pathogens, which she found irresistibly exciting and led her to pursue a Ph.D. degree at UC Davis with Dr. Richard Michelmore, studying the interaction between lettuce and the lettuce downy mildew pathogen. She is continuing these studies as a postdoctoral scholar and is excited to continue studying the pathogen toward breeding for durable disease resistance.
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