Building Careers in Plant
Pathology and Microbiology
A Graduate Student Profile of Uma Sagaram
Uma Shankar Sagaram is a graduate student working toward a Ph.D. in the Department of
Plant Pathology. He is working in Dr. Won Bo Shim's lab on Fusarium verticillioides,
an agriculturally and environmentally important fungus that causes 'stalk rot' and 'ear
rot' of corn. This causal agent also produces a mycotoxin called fumonisin, which can
cause health concerns to cattle and humans. We (Dr. Shim's Lab) are interested in
studying the possible involvement of lipid metabolism genes and the role of other
negative regulators in the development, secondary metabolism (primarily fumonisin
production) and pathogenisis. Currently, Uma is studying the effect of a putative
lipoxygenase gene and a putative linoleate dioxygenase gene on the sporogenesis and
secondary metabolism in F. verticillioides. In the future, Uma would like to investigate
and better understand the regulation of secondary metabolism in several mycotoxigenic fungi.
Uma Shankar Sagaram is a graduate student working toward a Ph.D. in the Department of
Plant Pathology. He is working in Dr. Won Bo Shim's lab on Fusarium verticillioides,
an agriculturally and environmentally important fungus that causes 'stalk rot' and 'ear
rot' of corn. This causal agent also produces a mycotoxin called fumonisin, which can
cause health concerns to cattle and humans. We (Dr. Shim's Lab) are interested in
studying the possible involvement of lipid metabolism genes and the role of other
negative regulators in the development, secondary metabolism (primarily fumonisin
production) and pathogenisis. Currently, Uma is studying the effect of a putative
lipoxygenase gene and a putative linoleate dioxygenase gene on the sporogenesis and
secondary metabolism in F. verticillioides. In the future, Uma would like to investigate
and better understand the regulation of secondary metabolism in several mycotoxigenic fungi.