Professor

Lab web site: Coplin Lab

Research Interests

Dr. Dave Coplin's interests involve the molecular biology of plant-bacteria interactions. He is currently studying the genetics of the corn pathogen, Erwinia stewartii. The major pathogenicity factor of this bacterium is an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) that causes vascular blockage and wilting. Dr. Coplin's laboratory group is currently characterizing and sequencing the genes involved in production of the EPS and their regulation. As an early step in pathogenesis, E. stewartii damages host cell membranes by an unknown mechanism, which involves EPS and a hypothetical cell-leakage factor. Dr. Coplin's group has isolated many nonpathogenic mutants blocked in lesion formation and has cloned the corresponding pathogenicity genes. These genes have turned out to be homologous to a group of conserved pathogenicity genes found in many other plant pathogenic bacteria, which are called hrp genes because they are required for both a hypersensitive response on a resistant host and pathogenicity on a susceptible host. To date their function is unknown, but the study of hrp genes in E. stewartii is interesting because it is the only bacterium known to possess them that does not cause hypersensitivity on any plant. The characterization of the very large hrp gene cluster in E. stewartii is a second major project in Dr. Coplin's laboratory.

Contact Information

David L. Coplin
Office: 483B Kottman Hall

The Ohio State University
Department of Plant Pathology
201 Kottman Hall
2021 Coffey Road
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1087

Phone: (614) 292-8503
FAX: (614) 292-4455
Email address: coplin.3@osu.edu