 | Professor, Dept. Plant Pathology, UW-Madison
1630 Linden Drive
(608) 263-2097
790 Russell Laboratories
jeri.barak@wisc.edu |
https://plantpath.wisc.edu/faculty/professor-jeri-barak/
- BS 1993, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA; Major: Marine Biology, English, Minor: Chemistry
- PhD 2000, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA; Department of Plant Pathology
Bacterial colonization of plants with a focus on food safety of fresh produce
Jeri has pioneered studies of plant colonization mechanisms by the plant symbiont Salmonella enterica. Our lab studies the biology of S. enterica in both the phyllosphere and rhizosphere. We have been able to fill out missing components of the S. enterica life cycle by characterizing molecular components used specifically in association with plants and diverse animal niches (e.g., mice and insects).
Although the study of S. enterica alone in plant – microbe interactions has been interesting and enlightening, it’s unlikely that this human pathogen encounters a plant host without a native microbiome or insect infestation. Our investigations now turn to the more complicated (and probably more natural) scenario with multiple interactors such as phytopathogenic bacteria and phytophagous insects. This work is allowing us to add details to the S. enterica life cycle that has been overlooked: Hemipterans and phytopathogenic bacteria as biomultipliers of S. enterica in the phyllosphere and the capacity of phytophagous Hemipterans to vector S. enterica among plants.
- Kimberly N Cowles, Arjun S Iyer, Iain McConnell, Ellie G Guillemette, Dharshita Nellore, Sonia C Zaacks, Jeri D Barak 2025. Established Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato infection disrupts immigration of leaf surface bacteria to the apoplast. Frontiers in microbiology PMC11830748
- Megan H Dixon, Dharshita Nellore, Sonia C Zaacks, Jeri D Barak 2024. Time of arrival during plant disease progression and humidity additively influence Salmonella enterica colonization of lettuce. Applied and environmental microbiology PMC11409676
- Megan H Dixon, Kimberly N Cowles, Sonia C Zaacks, Isabel N Marciniak, Jeri D Barak 2022. Xanthomonas Infection Transforms the Apoplast into an Accessible and Habitable Niche for Salmonella enterica. Applied and environmental microbiology PMC9680631
- Victoria L Harrod, Russell L Groves, Ellie G Guillemette, Jeri D Barak 2022. Salmonella enterica changes Macrosteles quadrilineatus feeding behaviors resulting in altered S. enterica distribution on leaves and increased populations. Scientific reports PMC9122940
- Kimberly N Cowles, Anna K Block, Jeri D Barak 2022. Xanthomonas hortorum pv. gardneri TAL effector AvrHah1 is necessary and sufficient for increased persistence of Salmonella enterica on tomato leaves. Scientific reports PMC9068798
- Victoria L Harrod, Russell L Groves, Matthew A Maurice, Jeri D Barak 2021. Frankliniella occidentalis facilitate Salmonella enterica survival in the phyllosphere. PloS one PMC7895381
- Nicola Holden, László Kredics, Jeri Barak 2020. Thematic issue on Human Pathogens in the Environment: biology and risk factors. FEMS microbiology letters
- Steven T Koike, Jeri D Barak, Diana M Henderson, Robert L Gilbertson 2019. Bacterial Blight of Leek: A New Disease in California Caused by Pseudomonas syringae. Plant disease
- Jeri D Barak, Steven T Koike, Robert L Gilbertson 2019. Role of Crop Debris and Weeds in the Epidemiology of Bacterial Leaf Spot of Lettuce in California. Plant disease
- Kimberly N Cowles, Russell L Groves, Jeri D Barak 2018. Leafhopper-Induced Activation of the Jasmonic Acid Response Benefits Salmonella enterica in a Flagellum-Dependent Manner. Frontiers in microbiology PMC6115507
- View all Publications @ PubMed
