UTT Professor Receives National Award for Research

TYLER — A professor of biology at The University of Texas at Tyler, Dr. Blake Bextine, has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for excellence in research, Dr. Ross Sherman, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, announced. According to a UTT news release, Bextine received the USDA’s “2014 Partnership Award” for his outstanding contributions in helping manage Zebra Chip disease. The ailment is caused by a bacterium transmitted by the “potato psyllid” (Bactericera cockerelli). “Zebra Chip” creates a zig-zag appearance in the upper growth of an affected plant. Insects carrying specific species of the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter, feed on the plant, which is then infected.

Through a large collaborative effort with the U.S., Mexico, and Central American countries, the research team – led by seven principal investigators including Bextine – is developing a management plan to regulate psyllid populations through technologically advanced DNA testing and sequencing. “Over the past 15 years, the Zebra Chip problem has become increasingly worse,” said Bextine, who has studied the disease for almost 10 years. “The goal of the Zebra Chip Program is to reduce the negative effects of this disease through understanding the system and applying management tactics in an informed way. Understanding the problem unveils its vulnerability.” Bextine noted, “The pathogen that causes this disease also affects other crops, and the insect feeds on a lot of other plants, so this is not just a potato problem.”