MSI PIs Part of the Fight Against Invasive Buckthorn
A story by University of Minnesota News features three MSI PIs who are involved in the fight against buckthorn, an invasive species that has spread through Minnesota. Buckthorn grows quickly and crowds out native plants. The story can be found on the University of Minnesota News website: Beating the buckthorn blues.
MSI PIs working to control and reduce buckthorn include:
- Assistant Professor Tiffany Wolf (Veterinary Population Medicine), who is investigating the use of goats for buckthorn control.
- Professor Wolf uses MSI resources for metagenomic studies of brainworm in the Minnesota moose population.
- Professor Robert Blanchette (Plant Pathology), who is studying fungi that could be useful in fighting buckthorn.
- Professor Blanchette is using MSI resources to study fungal diversity related to emerald ash borer infestations.
- Research Associate Professor Pablo Olivera Firpo (Plant Pathology), who is studying what species of crown rust, a fungal pathogen, could be harnessed to control buckthorn.
- Professor Olivera Firpo uses MSI resources to study the biology and epidemiology of rust diseases in cereal crops.
