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  • Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology

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Hailing Jin and Mary Droser

National Academy of Sciences welcomes two UCR faculty members

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) welcomes two UC Riverside professors as new members: Mary Droser, distinguished professor of earth and planetary sciences, and Hailing Jin, Cy Mouradick Endowed Chair of microbiology and plant pathology.

By Jules Bernstein | May 2, 2025 | Science / Technology, University
gopher in a field

How gophers brought Mount St. Helens back to life in one day

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, lava incinerated anything living for miles around. As an experiment, scientists dropped gophers onto parts of the scorched mountain for only 24 hours. The benefits from that single day were undeniable -- and still visible 40 years later.

By Jules Bernstein | November 5, 2024 | Science / Technology
bat

The fungus among us: California’s bats under siege

A sinister fungus is spreading through California’s bat populations, threatening their survival just as the spooky season takes flight.

By Jules Bernstein | October 30, 2024 | Science / Technology
Sustainable agriculture. Shows two hands and a plant in between.

UCR awarded $1.5M for sustainable agriculture initiatives

Three interrelated projects have been funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture

By Iqbal Pittalwala | October 25, 2024 | Science / Technology
scientist injecting plant

Stopping plants from passing viruses to their progeny

Scientists have learned how plants keep viruses from being passed to their offspring, a finding that could ensure healthier crops. The discovery could also help reduce the transmission of diseases from mothers to human children.

By Jules Bernstein | September 19, 2024 | Science / Technology
endangered golden frog

Discovery could end global amphibian pandemic

A fungus devastating frogs and toads on nearly every continent may have an Achilles heel. Scientists have discovered a virus that infects the fungus, and that could be engineered to save the amphibians.

By Jules Bernstein | April 3, 2024 | Science / Technology
Stock image of lungs

Scientists discover hidden army of lung flu fighters

Scientists have long thought of the fluid-filled sac around our lungs merely as a cushion from external damage. UC Riverside scientists have learned it also houses potent virus-eating cells that rush into the lungs during flu infections.

By Jules Bernstein | February 14, 2024 | Science / Technology
A person's arm is shown getting the vaccine

New vaccine design uses immunity against influenza to offer faster protection against emerging pathogens

Strategy developed by UC Riverside-led research team speeds up production of antibodies against COVID-19

By Iqbal Pittalwala | January 17, 2024 | Health
gray mold on strawberries

Discovery: plants use “trojan horse” to fight mold invasions 

UC Riverside scientists have discovered a stealth molecular weapon that plants use to attack the cells of invading gray mold.

By Jules Bernstein | December 20, 2023 | Science / Technology
tray of citrus

UCR wages $11+ million war against citrus greening disease

With three new grants totaling more than $11 million, UC Riverside is helping lead the fight against citrus greening or Huanglongbing, a disease threatening citrus industries in the U.S. and worldwide.

By Jules Bernstein | December 19, 2023 | Science / Technology
fuzzy strawberry

A path to defeating crop-killing gray mold without toxins

It’s a mold that causes billions in crop losses every year, infecting berries, tomatoes and most other fruits and vegetables. Now, researchers have found a way to defeat the mold without showering toxic chemicals on the crops.

By Jules Bernstein | August 3, 2023 | Science / Technology
Frances Sladek James Borneman Poonamjot Deol

Widely consumed vegetable oil leads to an unhealthy gut

UC Riverside-led mouse study reports diets high in soybean oil decrease endocannabinoids in the gut and can lead to colitis

By Iqbal Pittalwala | July 3, 2023 | Science / Technology
burn scar sampling

After wildfires, do microbes exhale potent greenhouse gas?

Laughing gas is no laughing matter — nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas with 300 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. Scientists are racing to learn whether microorganisms send more of it into the atmosphere after wildfires.

By Jules Bernstein | September 28, 2022 | Science / Technology
Researcher entering mangrove forest

Mexican mangroves have been capturing carbon for 5,000 years

Researchers have identified a new reason to protect mangrove forests: they’ve been quietly keeping carbon out of Earth’s atmosphere for the past 5,000 years.

By Jules Bernstein | September 16, 2022 | Science / Technology
Yosemite Valley

Drought increases microbe-laden dust landing in Sierras

Dust from all over the world is landing in the Sierra Nevada mountains carrying microbes that are toxic to both plants and humans. Research from UC Riverside shows higher concentrations of the dust are landing at lower elevations, where people are more likely to be hiking.

By Jules Bernstein | August 9, 2022 | Science / Technology
petrie dishes

Meet the forest microbes that can survive megafires

New UC Riverside research shows fungi and bacteria able to survive redwood tanoak forest megafires are microbial “cousins” that often increase in abundance after feeling the flames.

By Jules Bernstein | April 25, 2022 | Science / Technology
wildfire

Why doesn’t fire kill some bacteria and fungi?

UC Riverside scientists will spend the next three years studying the traits that allow soil microbes to respond to fire, as well as the role those microbes play in storing or emitting powerful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide.

By Jules Bernstein | March 30, 2022 | Science / Technology
bacteria pilus

Human gut bacteria have sex to share vitamin B12

Your gut bacteria need vitamin B12 just as much as you do. Though DNA is usually passed from parent to child, new research shows gut bacteria transfer genes through “sex” in order to take their vitamins.

By Jules Bernstein | February 1, 2022 | Science / Technology
peas in a bowl

Black eyed peas could help eliminate need for fertilizer

Black eyed peas’ ability to attract beneficial bacteria isn’t diminished by modern farming practices, new UC Riverside research shows. Planting it in rotation with other crops could help growers avoid the need for costly, environmentally damaging fertilizers.

By Jules Bernstein | January 20, 2022 | Science / Technology
Aspergillus niger fungus growing on a white onion

Modified yeast inhibits fungal growth in plants

External application could reduce agricultural reliance on fungicides

By Holly Ober | July 14, 2021 | Science / Technology
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tel: (951) 827-1012
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