Associate Professor Tree pathology; chemical ecology Research, Teaching, Extension Lab web site: Bonello Lab

View highlight piece on Emerald Ash Borer research (pdf file)

Program Description

My primary research interest is in the ecological role of tree pathogens.  A specific aspect being investigated is the chemical ecology of tree/fungal pathogen/insect interactions, with particular attention to effects of fungal pathogens on systemic induced resistance (SIR) against pathogens and insects, and cross-induction effects between fungal pathogens and insects mediated by the host tree.

A second focus of my research is on the relationships between soil fertility, carbon allocation, resource partitioning, and mycorrhizal community structure, and between growth and defense against both pathogens and insects.

A third area of interest is the ecological role and intimate relationships with the host of invasive organisms, particularly Phytophthora ramorum (causal agent of sudden oak death) and the emerald ash borer (a destructive wood boring insect pest).

Besides my role as a faculty in Plant Pathology, I am a member of the interdisciplinary graduate program in Environmental Science (esgp.osu.edu) as well as the specialization program in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (pmbb.osu.edu).

Teaching and Extension Links

• PLNTPTH 610 Diseases of Forest and Shade Trees (Autumn 2009)

• PLNTPTH 830 Fungi in Natural Ecosystems (last offered Winter 2009)

• PLNTPTH 843 Ecology of Plant-Associated Microbes

Plant Disease Factsheets

Diplodia Tip Blight of Two-Needled Pines (pdf)

Mycorrhizae in Urban Landscapes (pdf)

Oak Wilt (pdf)

Dutch Elm Disease (pdf)

Sudden Oak Death (pdf)

Professional Preparation

Recent Publications

• Cipollini, D.F., E.K. Barto, P. Bonello, and D.A. Herms. Comparative defense protein activities in the phloem of Manchurian ash (Fraxinus mandshurica) and two North American ash species (F. americana and F. pennsylvanica).  Journal of Chemical Ecology (submitted)
• Park, K.H., G.A. Rodriguez-Montes de Oca, P. Bonello, K.-J. Lee and K. Dabrowski. 2008. Determination of quercetin concentrations in fish tissues after feeding quercetin-containing diets.  Aquaculture International (DOI 10.1007/s10499-008-9222-6).
• Barto, E.K., S. Enright, A. Eyles, C.M. Wallis, R. Chorbadjian, R. Hansen, D.A. Herms, P. Bonello and D.F. Cipollini. 2008. Effects of soil fertility on systemic protein defense responses of austrian pine to attack by a fungal pathogen and an insect defoliator.  Journal of Chemical Ecology 34:1392-1400.
• Bonello, P., N. Luchi, P. Capretti, and M. Michelozzi. 2008. Host-mediated effects of Heterobasidion annosum s.s. infection on severity of Diplodia pinea tip blight in Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea L.). Tree Physiology 28, 1653-1660.
• Cipollini, D.F., R. Stevenson, S. Enright, A. Eyles, and P. Bonello.  2008.  Phenolic metabolites in leaves of the invasive shrub, Lonicera maackii, and their potential roles in allelopathy. Journal of Chemical Ecology 34, 144-152.
• Wallis, C.M., Eyles, A., Chorbadjian, R., McSpadden-Gardner, B.B., Hansen, R., Cipollini, D.F., Herms, D.A. and P. Bonello.  Systemic induction of phloem secondary metabolism and its relationship to resistance to a canker pathogen in Austrian pine. New Phytologist 177, 767-668.
• Ockels, F.S., A. Eyles, B.A. McPherson, D.L. Wood, and P. Bonello. 2007. Chemistry of coast live oak response to Phytophthora ramorum infection. Journal of Chemical Ecology 33, 1721-1732.
• Luchi, N., P. Capretti, and P. Bonello. 2007. Production of Diplodia scrobiculata and Diplodia pinea pycnidia on ground Austrian pine needle agar medium. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 46, 230-235.
• Eyles, A., R. Chorbadjian, C.M. Wallis, R.C. Hansen, D.F. Cipollini, D.A. Herms, and P. Bonello. 2007. Cross-induction of systemic induced resistance between an insect and a fungal pathogen in Austrian pine over a fertility gradient. Oecologia 153: 365-374.
• Eyles, A., K. Riedl, W. Jones, S. Schwartz, K. Chan, D.A. Herms, D.F. Cipollini, and P. Bonello. 2007. Comparative phloem chemistry of Manchurian (Fraxinus mandshurica) and two North American ash species (F. americana and F. pennsylvanica). Journal of Chemical Ecology 33: 1430-1448.
• Mihail, J. D., J. N. Bruhn, and P. Bonello. 2007. Spatial and temporal patterns of morel fruiting. Mycological Research 111: 339-346.
• Ockels, F.S., M.V. DiLeo, and P. Bonello. 2007. Desiccation at ambient temperature effectively preserves plant tissues infected with Phytophthoras. Plant Health Progress. http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/sub/php/research/2007/desiccation/
• Whitehill, J., J. S. Lehman, and P. Bonello. 2007. Ips pini (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is a vector of the fungal pathogen, Sphaeropsis sapinea (Coelomycetes), to Austrian pines, Pinus nigra (Pinaceae). Environmental Entomology 36:114-120.
• Blodgett, J. T., A. Eyles, and P. Bonello. 2007. Organ-dependent induction of systemic resistance and systemic susceptibility in Pinus nigra inoculated with Sphaeropsis sapinea and Diplodia scrobiculata. Tree Physiology 27:511-517.
• Bonello, P., T. R. Gordon, D. A. Herms, D. L. Wood, and N. Erbilgin. 2006. Nature and ecological implications of pathogen-induced systemic resistance in conifers: A novel hypothesis. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 68: 95-104. (Invited review article.)
• Wang, D., A. Eyles, and P. Bonello. 2006. Systemic aspects of host-pathogen interactions in Austrian pine (Pinus nigra): a proteomics approach. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 68:149-157.
• Thomas S.L., Bonello P, Lipps P.E., Boehm M.J. 2006.  Avenacin production in creeping bentgrass ( Agrostis stolonifera) and its influence on the host range of Gaeumannomyces graminis. Plant Disease 90: 33-38

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Contact Information

Pierluigi (Enrico) Bonello
Kottman Hall, Office 483C
The Ohio State University
2021 Coffey Road
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1087

Phone: (614) 688-5401
FAX: (614) 292-4455
Email address: bonello.2@osu.edu