National Research Award
December 1, 2014
UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications
UT Tyler Biology Professor Receives National Award for Excellence in Research
December 1, 2014
Media Contact: Hannah Buchanan
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Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
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December 1, 2014
Dr. Blake Bextine, professor of biology at The University of Texas at Tyler, has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for excellence in research, Dr. Ross Sherman, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, announced.
Bextine received the USDA’s “2014 Partnership Award” for his outstanding contributions in helping manage Zebra Chip disease, which is caused by a bacterium transmitted by the ‘potato psyllid’ (Bactericera cockerelli). ‘Zebra Chip’ creates a zig-zag appearance in the upper growth of an affected plant. Insects carrying specific species of the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter, feed on the plant, which is then infected.
Through a large collaborative effort with the U.S., Mexico and Central American countries, the research team – led by seven principle investigators including Bextine – is developing a management plan to regulate psyllid populations through technologically advanced DNA testing and sequencing.
“Over the past 15 years, the Zebra Chip problem has become increasingly worse,” said Bextine, who has studied the disease for almost 10 years. “The goal of the Zebra Chip Program is to reduce the negative effects of this disease through understanding the system and applying management tactics in an informed way. Understanding the problem unveils its vulnerability.”
Program co-supporters include Frito Lay and the Texas Potato Growers Group. Potato chips and fries made from affected potato plants have severe dark brown-streaked blemishes.
“The pathogen that causes this disease also affects other crops, and the insect feeds on a lot of other plants, so this is not just a potato problem,” he added.
The epidemic first began in the southern United States and Mexico. Psyllid populations have moved, stretching to parts of California, the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and into portions of Central America, according to Bextine.
“With our hard work and great leadership from several universities and federal laboratories, we are making an impact, actually slowing the progression of the pathogen and insect into new areas and reducing losses where the disease is present,” Bextine said. “We are using science as a tool to improve the world.”
Research grants totaling more than $1 million have sponsored Bextine and the team’s continued efforts to suppress ‘Zebra Chip’ and further analyze the insect.
Bextine’s general research interest is the development of management tactics and diagnostic techniques for insect-transmitted plant pathogens. Both graduate and undergraduate students take active roles in the research within his laboratory that, to date, has collectively brought almost $3 million in research funding to UT Tyler.
Serving the university since 2005, he also is UT Tyler assistant vice president of research and technology transfer.
One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 8,000 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.