Paul Morris

Research Interests:

I have had a longstanding interest in the spatial organization of putrescine synthesis and transport in plants. I have also maintained a collaboration with a plant pathology research lab in Taian China and have worked with them to publish several manuscripts on the molecular strategies of the plant pathogen Phytophthora capsici. The primary focus of my research is now to develop a solution for the major pathogen problem that threatens the sustainability of controlled environment agriculture. Hydroponic greenhouses or indoor vertical farms enable year-round production of crops like leafy greens, and are more efficient in their use of water and nutrients than terrestrial agriculture. However, the recirculating water in these systems is also a perfect environment for plant pathogens called Pythium. These pathogens are endemic, and are the major economic threat to this industry. We have identified bacteria that are host-specific parasites of oomycetes. Our NSF Phase STTR award 'Biological Control of Pythium Pathogens in Hydroponic Greenhouses' enabled us to define the molecular basis of pathogenicity, and establish that it was a contact-dependent killer of Pythium isolates collected from across the USA. My long-term goal is the commercialization of this biocontrol strategy. My BGSU lab will focus on the virulence strategies of this pseudomonad.

Recent Significant Publications:

Sheng H, Ai C, Yang C, Zhu C, Meng Z, Wu F, Wang X, Dou D, Morris PF, Zhang X. 2024. A conserved oomycete effector RxLR23 triggers plant defense responses by targeting ERD15La to release NbNAC68. 2024  Nat Commun. Jul 27;15(1):6336. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50782-3. PMID: 39068146; PMCID: PMC11283518.

Kumud Joshi, Sheaza Ahmed, Lingxiao Ge, Arefeh Avestakh, Babatunde Oloyede, Vipaporn Phuntumart, Andrea Kalinoski, Paul F. Morris, Spatial organization of putrescine synthesis in plants, Plant Science, 349, 2024, ISSN 0168-9452, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112232.

Lou YR, Ahmed S, Yan J, Adio AM, Powell HM, Morris PF, Jander G. Arabidopsis ADC1 functions as an Nδ -acetylornithine decarboxylase. J Integr Plant Biol. 2020 May;62(5):601- 613. PubMed PMID: 31081586.

Yang C, Li J, Huang Z, Zhang X, Gao X, Zhu C, Morris PF, Zhang X. Structural and catalytic analysis of two diverse uridine phosphorylases in Phytophthora capsici. Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 3;10(1):9051. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7271239.

Li J, Ai C, Yang C, Jiang W, Sheng H, Morris PF, Zhang X. Phytophthora capsici PcFtsZ2 Is Required for Asexual Development and Plant Infection. Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2020 May;33(5):727-741. PubMed PMID: 32096689.

Song W, Yang C, Zhu C, Morris PF, Zhang X. Crystal structure and expression patterns of prolyl 4-hydroxylases from Phytophthora capsici. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2019 Jan 22;508(4):1011-1017. PubMed PMID: 30551874.

Wagner A, Norris S, Chatterjee P, Morris PF, Wildschutte H. Aquatic Pseudomonads Inhibit Oomycete Plant Pathogens of Glycine max. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:1007. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5986895.