Richard Michelmore
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Department of Plant Sciences
FFAR-Funded Research Protects Lettuce from Disease
Richard Michelmore is distinguished professor and a founding member of the 51ԹϺ Davis Genome Center. He studies the genomics of disease resistance in plants, particularly in lettuce, to help growers combat the constantly evolving spectrum of diseases. His federally funded research focuses on understanding how plant pathogens evolve and identifying plant genes that allow crops to resist these ever-changing threats.
Helping Humanity
Michelmore’s work is critical because plant pandemics threaten global food security and disrupt food systems; this can drive up food prices and contribute to political instability. Recent outbreaks of Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) caused significant crop losses and price spikes. Federal funding plays a vital role in sustaining disease monitoring programs and ongoing research into the molecular basis of disease resistance, allowing early detection of emerging threats and effective responses.
"We run monitoring programs for two of the most important diseases of lettuce and if the federal funding was cut, they just wouldn't happen. And over time there's a possibility that there wouldn't be a reliable supply of lettuce.”
—Richard Michelmore