Date of Submission

Spring 2024

Academic Program

Biology

Project Advisor 1

Cathy Collins

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Fungicides are used to kill fungal pathogens that cause disease in agriculture. Over time, fungal pathogens have become resistant to many common fungicides ultimately preventing their effectiveness. Fungicide resistance is an ongoing threat in agriculture, causing global crop losses and impacting food security. Fusarium species are soil-borne fungal pathogens with the unique ability to cause disease in plants and humans. Most fungal pathogens develop resistance after prolonged exposure to fungicides, but Fusarium species have also been shown to have naturally occurring resistance without prior exposure. Fusarium species have additionally demonstrated specific resistance to different fungicides depending on the population and strain, preventing the prediction and management of resistance across species and individuals within each species. I investigated whether two different commercial fungicides impact fungal growth for three Fusarium species and whether responses vary among individuals within a species. To determine how fungicide resistance or susceptibility differs across individuals and species. I measured fungal growth after exposing individuals to high and low fungicide concentrations. I detected that fungal species responded differently to the two fungicides. Additionally, although both fungicides reduced growth for all individuals, individuals responded differently to the treatments depending on fungicide concentration. This study ultimately provides a better understanding of Fusarium species’ response to fungicides and may help influence management strategies in agriculture.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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