Maor Bar-Peled received $156,000 from the U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund to investigate the formation of sugar-polymers, or glycans, that coat the fungus Botrytis cinerea, and address how or if they help it recognize its plant hosts. B. cinerea is a pathogenic fungus that attacks many economically important plant species, including grapes, strawberries and bulb crops. Disruption of the recognition process can help stop infection. Bar-Peled is an associate professor of plant biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and an adjunct associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center. He will collaborate on the project with Amir Sharon of Tel Aviv University.
