Rosemary Loria is a professor, and former chair, of the Plant Pathology Department at Cornell University. In the 1990Õs, her lab initiated research on the molecular genetic analysis of the plant pathogenic phenotype in the genus Streptomyces species. These Gram-positive plant pathogens are economically important and possess novel mechanisms for manipulation of plant cells. Cloning of the highly conserved virulence gene nec1 led to the discovery of a large, mobile pathogenicity island (PAI). Mobilization of the PAI was demonstrated in a newly emerged pathogen, S. turgidiscabies. Characterization of the biosynthetic pathway for the phytotoxin, thaxtomin, led to the discovery that a niric oxide synthase is involved in nitration of this dipeptide. The 10 Mb S. scabies genome is now available and the lab is participating in genomic and proteomic analysis of pathogenicity, with several collaborators. Dr. Loria received her PhD in Plant Pathology from Michigan State University, some time ago.