My current research centers on the Erwinia amylovora fire blight pathosystem with projects ranging from basic studies of pathogen-host interactions to developing improved chemical and biological approaches for fire blight management. We are currently working on the regulation of the major pathogenicity determinants type III secretion and amylovoran exopolysaccharide by regulatory small RNAs and cyclic di-GMP. We have recently shown the importance of biofilm formation to E. amylovora pathogenesis, invasion of xylem, and systemic spread of the pathogen within trees. We also study E. amylovora plasmids, streptomycin resistance, and are developing and evaluating strategies to increase the potential for biological control of fire blight in the midwest and eastern United States. My work with fungal tree fruit pathogens in Michigan focuses on detecting, tracking, and understanding the evolution of fungicide resistance in organisms such as Venturia inaequalis (apple scab), Blumeriella jaapii (cherry leaf spot), and Monilinia fructicola (American brown rot). We have worked on resistance to sterol demethylation inhibitors, strobilurins, and succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor classes of fungicides.