Research Focus:
Effect of climate change on aphids vectors of Barley yellow dwarf viruses
Research Abstract:
My research mainly spans across the cereal aphid species that are present in the North West Pacific Region of the United States. The first priority however, is given to the BYDV Pathosystem because the majority of cereal aphids in the region are vectors for the Barley Yellow dwarf virus. A good example is the Methopolophium festucae cerealium aphid species, which was recently reported from the region. It has been found out that the population density of this new reported species in the region has increased during the period 2011-2014. Nevertheless, the efficiency of this aphid for transmitting BYDV-PAV and BYDV-MAV has not been evaluated yet. Our objective is to test the hypothesis that this new aphid is a good vector for BYDV-MAV and is a bad vector or non-vector for BYD-PAV. After getting evidence of BYDV transmission by the aphid, its vector capacity for the virus will be studied. Meanwhile life table parameters of aphid on healthy and BYDV-infected plants and two different temperatures will be compared in controlled chambers. The second priority in my work is to analyze data concerning population densities of different aphid species collected during 2011-2014. These data have been collected in 119 collecting sites that are distributed over 32 municipally in Idaho, Washington and Oregon States. The data will be analyzed to find out the relationship between climatic factors on the population density of the aphid species under study.
Biography:
Seyed Ebrahim Sadeghi was born in Khonsar, Iran. He got his B.Sc. in plant protection from the University of Tehran in 1988, and his M.Sc. in Agricultural entomology from Tarbiat Modrres University, in 1990. He received his Ph.D. in Biology and Agronomy at the University of Rennes (ENSAR), France in 1995. After returning to Iran in 1995, Ebrahim accepted as an assistant professor position and became a member of the scientific board for the Research Institute of Forests and rangelands of Iran (RIFR). He has been a Professor at RIFR since 2012. During his scientific carrier, Ebrahim has been the leader for several national and local research projects related to biotic agents damaging of forests and rangelands over the Iranian territory. He has also been cooperatively working with several Universities in Iran as M.Sc and Ph.D supervisor or advisor and also teaching several graduate level courses. He is the head author and co-author of more than 250 peer review papers published in International and National scientific journals as well as the editor of two books entitled "Arthropods vectors of plant viruses with emphasis on pasture grasses" and "Oak gall wasps of Iran". In addition, Ebrahim has co-authored more than three hundred International and/or National congress proceedings. Ebrahim was the editor in chief for the Journal of entomological society of Iran for five years, a member of managing committee of entomological society of Iran for three years and also peer reviewer for several international and national journals. Over the past ten years, he has been editor in chief for the Iranian Journal of Forest and Rangelands protection. Ebrahim came to the U.S in order to pay a visit to his son at Washington State University. However, he took this opportunity to look for a postdoc position at the University of Idaho. Through his search, he got to know Prof. Sanford Eigenbrode, the director of the REACCH project. Sanford's academic background in virus-vectors interaction as well as his great character convinced Ebrahim to accept this position and become a member of the REACCH research team.
Publications and Presentations:
Sadeghi, S.E., J. Bjur, L. Ingwell, L. Unger, N.A. Bosque-Pérez and S.D. Eigenbrode. 2016. Interactions between Metopolophium festucae cerealium (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV-PAV). J. Insect Sci. 16: 1–6.