BIOL 431 CURE: Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria on White Button Mushrooms with Brown Blotch Disease
By: Jessica Takemoto, Yogesh Badala, Ingrid Mazariegos, Paulina Curiel, Tiffany Cabrera, Christian Bustos, Isabella Chung, Catherine Gorostiza, Katherine Yee, Sammy Quach, Raxelle Atela, Adam Nieto, Jonar Dantes, Xuan Tran, Thomas Carpio, and Hao Tran
Department: Microbiology
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lily Chen
The white button edible basidiomycete mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus, are subject to brown blotch disease caused by the plant pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas tolaasii. These bacteria are spread by means of biosurfactants (pseudodesmin), and damage is caused by a family of pore-forming cyclic lipopeptides (tolaasins). Students in BIOL 431 Medical Microbiology Laboratory class conduct a 4 weeks long Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) module to characterize bacterial community in the white button mushrooms including a possible presence of P. tolaasii.