close up image of citrus root hanging over blurred background

Plant Pathology, Stress Biology, and Crop Improvement

Developing innovative solutions for crop resiliency and improvement

Worldwide, emerging and endemic pathogens, pests, and abiotic stresses cause major losses to agricultural production and productivity. Our lab employs integrated approaches for basic and translational studies of crop stress responses relevant to Texas and U.S. agriculture. We are using the latest genomics and genetics tools to understand plant stress responses to diverse plant biotic and abiotic stress conditions, as well as improve crop cultivars’ stress resilience using genome editing, biotechnology, and breeding strategies.

Man (Kranthi Mandadi, Ph.D.) in a large citrus greenhouse surrounded by young trees

Research projects

Crop improvement through biotechnology and CRISPR-based genome editing.

Utilizing cutting-edge technologies for crop trait improvement Research funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Act; Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Project Description The goal is to utilize novel bioengineering and CRISPR-based genome editing technologies for crop improvement. To enable this, we have established plant…

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Genomics and Genetics of plant stresses 

Understanding genes and regulatory networks in plant stress responses and disease Diseases and abiotic stresses of vegetables, fruits, and commodity crops result in annual yield losses of US $300 million or more. Towards enhancing the stress resilience of crops,  we are pursuing genetic and genomics-based characterization of diverse environmental and biotic stresses in citrus, potato, tomato,…

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Fastidious plant diseases and plant-microbe interactions

Seeking solutions against pathogens that cannot be cultured for laboratory study Fastidious (unculturable) plant pathogens devastate several food and commodity crops. For instance, citrus greening or Huanglongbing disease, caused by a fastidious bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, is inflicting approximately $3 billion in annual losses. Similarly, potato zebra chip disease, caused by CandidatusLiberibacter solanacearum, causes annual crop losses of…

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Program Faculty and Staff

Kranthi Mandadi Ph.D portrait

Kranthi Mandadi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Principle Investigator

PI Bio. Dr. Mandadi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M University. He has over15 years of plant pathology, genetics, and biotechnology expertise. Dr. Mandadi has published 62 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts in high-impact journals, 3 book chapters, 55 press and extension articles, 28 invited talks, and 56 abstracts at national and international scientific conferences. Dr. Mandadi routinely lectures in courses in plant pathology and biotechnology and mentored >30 undergraduate and high-school students, 14 graduate students, and 11 postdoctoral research associates/research scientists. Dr. Mandadi obtained research grants/projects totaling $39 Million ($8 Million to Mandadi) from various funding sources. He received the 2022 Texas A&M AgriLife Research Scientist of the Year, the 2020 AgriLife Directors Superior Grantsmanship Award, and the 2017 Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) New Innovator Award.

Publications

A full selection of Dr. Mandadi’s publications is available at TAMU Scholars along with information about researchers and peer-reviewed publications across The Texas A&M University System.