Krystel Navarro

Oomycete populations in Ohio include two important genera that cause diseases of soybean known as Phytophthora and Pythium spp. In the field, seed rot, seedling damping-off, and root rot can be caused by more than one species, and also known as species complexes. For this reason management of oomycetes becomes challenging and population studies are necessary to fully characterize these pathogens to ultimately develop the most effective management strategies. My research uses an amplicon based metagenomics approach to study oomycete populations in Ohio and to determine the effects of environment, agricultural practices, soybean cultivar, and soil physical properties in species diversity and abundance. This information is then used during germplasm and fungicide screening since it reduces the amount of isolates needed for screening.

Another aspect of my research focuses in the diversity of P. sojae effector proteins. P.sojae is known to have several effector proteins (also known as Avr genes) that directly interact with the plants R genes to overcome resistance. Many effector proteins had been discovered to date but little is known about how these effectors vary among populations. For this reason, my project investigates the effects of genetic variation in the Avr1a effector region between two populations, including Ohio and Iowa. With new advances in next generation sequencing, our approach is to sequence the ~25kb region of the Avr1a locus using SMRT technology (PacBio) to determine the effects of genetic changes in virulence. Our ultimate goal is to provide growers with quality cultivars, knowledge, and management tools that will ultimately continue to increase yields and thus profitability. 

Research Experience

• Intern, Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP-OSU)         Wooster, OH Summer 2013
• Intern, Illinois Plant Breeding Center at U of I,                                  Champaign, IL. Summer 2010
• Undergraduate Researcher in Plant Molecular Genetics                   Mayaguez, P.R. 2010-2012
• Undergraduate Researcher in Disease Epidemiology                        Mayaguez, P.R. 2010-2012

Work Experience

• Intern, Soil Conservationist - USDA– NRCS Agency                         Anderson, SC. Summer 2012
• USDA Agribusiness Development Program “CariPac”                       Mayaguez, P.R. 2011-2012
• Research Assistant, Pioneer Hi-Bred International,                           Champaign, IL. Summer 2011

Scholarships and Awards

• SROP Fellowship- (2014– Present)- University Fellowship for PhD
• Ohio Soybean Council (2018)- $5,000.00
• OSU Ray Travel Award- (2018)- $1,000.00
• Puerto Rico Kinesis Foundation– PhD Award  (2014– present)- $5,000.00
• Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association Patricia Ngwira Travel Award (2016)- $500.00
• CETARS- undergraduate scholarship

Teaching Experience

• Teaching Assistant- Science of Fungi (PLNTPTH 5041) - Autumn 2015- The Ohio State University– Wooster Campus
• Teaching Assistant– General Plant Pathology (PLNTPTH 3001) - Autumn 2015 and 2016 - The Ohio State University– Wooster Campus
• Adjunct Professor-  Gateway to Molecular and Cellular Biology (BIOL201) - Spring 2018 - College of Wooster—Wooster, OH

Activities

• American Phytopathological Society
  • Student Travel Award Reviewer (2017)          

• American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting (2016)
  • Nematology Secession Moderator  
• Plant Pathology Graduate Students Association (PPGSA)
  • Plant Sale Chair (2015-2016)
  •  Outreach Chair (2016-2017)
  •  Travel Award Committee member (2016-2017).
• American Phytopathological Society (APS)
  • Equality and Diversity Committee Member (2016- Present)
• Pioneer Plant Science Symposium, Title: “Planting Profitability using Interdisciplinary Approaches”
  • Speaker Representative Committee Chair (2017-2018)
• Plant Pathology Graduate Studies Committee
  •  Graduate Student Representative (2017-2018)

Outreach

• Science of Agriculture Day– OARDC (Wooster, OH, 2015, 2016 and 2017)
  • Titles: “Plant Doctors at Work” and “Plants get Sick Too”
• Planting Science– Online mentoring (2016)
• Wooster Triway High School
  • Invited Speaker- (Woster, OH, 2017)

Languages

• Spanish– (Native) 
• English– (Advanced) Fluent in writing, speaking, reading and talking.