Professor of Plant Pathology

Purdue University
Botany and Plant Pathology, Lilly Hall
915 West State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054

Office:  LILY 1-351
Phone:  (765) 494-3450
FAX:      (765) 494-0363
E-mail:   

Area: Corn/Mycotoxin Pathology - genetics, biochemistry, and physiology of mycotoxin biosynthesis.

Education

Ph.D.,Washington State University, Plant Pathology
M.S., University of Maryland, Botany
B.S., Valdosta State College, Biology

Research Interests

Mycotoxins are chemicals produced by fungi growing on food commodities. These toxins are important because they are deleterious to the health of animals or humans.

Many fungi that produce mycotoxins are also plant pathogens. It is not unusual for crops such as peanuts, corn and wheat to be contaminated with mycotoxins prior to harvesting because of severe disease problems. In Indiana, we are most concerned about four mycotoxins (aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and fumonisin) associated with ear rot diseases of corn.

Research:

The long range goals of my research program are to investigate the biosynthesis of various mycotoxins and to develop novel approaches for eliminating the risk of mycotoxin contamination of food sources. Research on the molecular biology of mycotoxin biosynthesis will reveal vulnerable points in the pathways that can be targets for control. Potential approaches include: the identification of chemicals that specifically inhibit mycotoxin biosynthesis; the genetic engineering of plants that express inhibitors of mycotoxin biosynthesis; and the production of biocontrol agents that produce inhibitors of mycotoxin biosynthesis. Another goal is to use these mycotoxin-producing fungi as model systems to advance the current understanding of secondary metabolism in fungi.

Extension:

My extension responsibility is mycotoxins associated with grain production. Mycotoxins are a concern in both corn and wheat crops prior to harvest and during storage. The objective of my extension effort is to inform and educate the grain producers, handlers, and processors about mycotoxins. Surveying fields for disease and mycotoxins is a major component of his program, because diseases prior to harvest are the primary source of mycotoxins. From these surveys, I inform those in the grain industry of the potential mycotoxins present at harvest. The information is distributed through extension newsletters, workshops and telephone conversations. This information is used by the grain industry for deciding how grain should be handled. My extension program addresses molds and mycotoxin problems that occur in storage because of insect feeding or poor grain management. I also have a hands-on workshop on the use of mycotoxin test kits.

Extension Bulletins:

• Moldy Grains, Mycotoxins and Feeding Problems
• Mycotoxins and Mycotoxin Test Kits
• Blue Eye in Corn

Assistantships and Positions

Please contact me directly for information on assistantships and openings in my program. Follow these links for general information on graduate programs or employment announcements.

Selected Publications

Woloshuk, C. P., Cavaletto, J. R., and Cleveland, T. E. 1997. Inducers of aflatoxin biosynthesis from colonized maize kernels are generated by an amylase activity from Aspergillus flavus. Phytopathology 87:164-160.

Prieto, R. and Woloshuk, C. P. 1997. ord1, an oxidoreductase gene responsible for the conversion of O-methylsterigmatocystin to aflatoxin in Aspergillus flavus. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:1661-1666.

Woloshuk, C. P. and Prieto, R. 1998. Mini Review: Genetic organization and function of the aflatoxin B1 biosynthetic genes. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 160:169-176.

Shim, W.-B and Woloshuk, C. P. 1999. Nitrogen repression of fumonisin B1 biosynthesis in Gibberella fujikuroi. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 177:106-116.

Fakhoury, A. M. and Woloshuk, C. P. 1999. Amy1, the a-amylase gene of Aspergillus flavus: Involvement in aflatoxin biosynthesis in maize kernels. Phytopathology 89: 908-914.

Yu, J., Woloshuk, C. P., Bhatnagar, D., and Cleveland, T. E. 2000. Cloning and characterization of avfA and omtB genes involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis in three Aspergillus species. Gene 249:157-167.

Kells, S. A., Mason, L. J., Maier, D. E., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2001. Efficacy and fumigation characteristics of ozone in stored maize. J. Stored Prod. Res. 37:371-382.

Shim, W-B. and Woloshuk, C. P. 2001. Regulation of fumonisin B1 biosynthesis and conidiation in Fusarium verticillioides by a cyclin-like (C-type) gene FCC1. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:1607-1612.

Fakhoury, A. M. and Woloshuk, C. P. 2001. Inhibition of growth of Aspergillus flavus and fungal a-amylases by a lectin-like protein from Lablab purpureus . Mol. Plant Microbial Int. 14:955-961.

Shim, W-B. and Woloshuk, C. P. 2001. Regulation of fumonisin B1 biosynthesis and conidiation in Fusarium verticillioides by a cyclin-like (C-type) gene FCC1. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:1607-1612.

Bluhm, B. H., Flaherty, J. E., Cousin, M.A., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2002. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the differential detection of trichothecene- and fumonisin-producing species of Fusarium in cornmeal. J. Food Protection. 65:1955-1961.

Mendez, F., Maier, D. E., Mason, L. J., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2003. Penetration of ozone into columns of stored grains and effects on chemical composition and processing performance. J. Stored Prod. Res. (39:33-44).

Shim, W-B., Flaherty, J. E., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2003. Comparison of fumonisin B1 biosynthesis in maize germ and degermed kernels by Fusarium verticillioides. J. Food Protection. 66:2116-2122.

Flaherty, J. E., Pirttilä, A. M., Bluhm, B. H., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2003. Role of PAC1, a pH regulatory gene from Fusarium verticillioides, in growth and fumonisin biosynthesis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69:5222-5227.

Bluhm, B. H., Cousin, M.A., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2004. Multiplex real-time PCR detection of fumonisin-producing and trichothecene-producing groups of Fusarium species. J. Food Protection. 67:536-543.

J. Yu, Chang, P.-K., Cary, J. W., Bhatnagar, D., Cleveland, T. E., Payne, G. A., Linz,  J. E., Woloshuk, C. P., and Bennett,  J. W.. 2004. The clustered pathway genes in aflatoxin biosynthesis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:1253-1262

Pirttilä, A. M., McIntyre, L. M., Payne, G. A., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2004. Expression profile analysis of wild-type and fcc1 mutant strains of Fusarium verticillioides during fumonisin biosynthesis. Fungal Genet. Biol. 41:647-656

Flaherty, J. E., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2004. Regulation of fumonisin biosynthesis in Fusarium verticilliodes by a zinc binuclear cluster-type gene, ZFR1. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:2653-2659.

Cooley, C., Bluhm, B. H., Reuhs, B. L., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2005. Glass-fiber disks provide suitable medium to study polyol production and gene expression in Eurotium rubrum. Mycologia 97:743-750.

Bluhm, B. H. and Woloshuk, C. P. 2005. Amylopectin induces fumonisin B1 production by Fusarium verticillioidesduring colonization of maize kernels. Mol. Plant Microbiol. Interact. 12:1333-1339.

Bluhm, B. H., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2006. Fck1, a C-type cyclin-dependent kinase, interacts with Fcc1 to regulate development and secondary metabolism in Fusarium verticillioides. Fungal Genet. Biol. 43:146–154.

Ileleji, K. E., Maier, D. E, Bhat, C., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2006. Detection of a developing hot spot in stored corn with a CO2 sensor. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 22: 275-289.

Tsai, W.-T., Mason, L. J., and Woloshuk, C. P. 2007. Effect of three stored-grain fungi on the development of Typhaea stercorea. J. Stored Prod. Res. 43:129-133.

Smith, C. A., Woloshuk, C. P., Robertson, D., and Payne, G. A. 2007. Silencing of the aflatoxin gene cluster in a diploid strain of Aspergillus flavus is suppressed by ectopic aflR expression. Genetics 176:2077-2086.

Ileleji, K. E., Maier, D. E. and Woloshuk, C. P. 2007. Evaluation of different temperature management strategies for suppression of Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky) in stored maize. J. Stored Prod. Res. 43:480-488.

Kim, Y.-H., Woloshuk, C. P., Cho, E. H., Bae, J. M.,  Song, Y.-S. and Huh, G.-H. 2007. Cloning and functional expression of the gene encoding an inhibitor against Aspergillus flavus α-amylase, a novel seed lectin from Lablab purpureus (Dolichos lablab). Plant Cell Reports 26:395-405.

Bluhm, B. H., Kim, H., Butchko, R. A. E., and Woloshuk, C. P.  2008. Involvement of ZFR1 of Fusarium verticillioides in kernel colonization and the regulation of FST1, a putative sugar transporter gene required for fumonisin biosynthesis on maize kernels. Molecular Plant Pathology (in Press).

Web Links of Interest

• NC-1025, Mycotoxins: Biosecurity and Food Safety (NC129)