Washington DaSilva
Graduate Student
E-mail: WDaSilva@agcenter.lsu.edu

Major Professor: Dr. Chris Clark

Education:

2010-Present: M.Sc. Student, Dept. of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.

2003-2010: Degree in Agronomy Engineering, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Experience:

2010-Present: Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology & Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.

2009-2010: Research Assistant, Laboratory of Host-Parasite Interaction, Department of Phytopathology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

2008: Museum Guide, Harvard Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

2007-2008: MAST International, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, USA.
2003-2007: Laboratory of Ecology of Social Insects, Department of Entomology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Area of Research:

End rots are one of the major disease complexes in sweetpotatoes, which can be caused by Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium solani, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. The first two fungi have been found to be endophytes in sweetpotato storage roots.  However, how they invade the storage roots and what trigger them to become pathogenic is unknown.  In my research, I am interested in find out how those fungi penetrate inside the sweetpotato storage roots and what causes them to turn into a pathogen of those roots.  I am also interested in identifying the bacteria that cause souring in sweetpotato storage roots in anaerobic conditions.  Preliminary studies indicated that pectolytic clostridia are involved in these disease complexes.  My goal is to identify these bacteria by molecular techniques, and describe the etiology of these diseases.
 

Awards:

2012: LSU Graduate School Travel Award to attend the 2012 Annual APS Meeting in Providence, RI.

2012: American Phytopathological Society (APS). Student Travel Award to attend the 2012 Annual APS Meeting in Providence, RI.

2012: Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology Graduate Student Association (PPCP-GSA) - LSU. Student Travel Award to attend the 2012 Annual Southern Division APS Meeting in Birmingham, AL.

2011: American Phytopathological Society - Southern Division (APS).  Student Travel Award to attend the 2011 Annual Southern Division APS Meeting in Corpus Christi, TX.

2009-2010: Scholarship Recipient, Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica - PIBIC/CNPq. Project: “Fotossintetic analysis of sorghum plants supplied with silicon in response to infection of Colletotrichum sublineolum.”

2005-2007: Scholarship Recipient, Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica - PIBIC/CNPq. Project: “The role of leaf-cutting ants in fertility of Brazilian Savanna soils.”

2003-2005: Scholarship Recipient, Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica - FAPEMIG PROBIC/UFV. Project: “Processes involved in regulation of insect biodiversity”.

Publications:

da Silva, W. L., Rodrigues, F. A. Histochemical analysis of wheat resistance to leaf blast mediated by silicon. (in press).

da Silva, W. L., Singh, R. First report of Alternaria alternata causing leaf spot on Aloe vera in Louisiana. Plant Dis. 96:0000, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-12-0343-PDN.

da Silva, W. L., Schoereder, J. H. 2008. Leaf-Cutting Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Soil Classes: Preference, Survival and Nest Density. Sociobiology 52 (2): 403-415.

Sousa-Souto, L., Schoereder, J. H., Schaefer, C. E. G. R., da Silva, W. L. 2008. Ant nests and soil nutrient availability: the negative impact of fire. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24:639–646. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005464

Sousa-Souto, L., Guerra, M. B. B., Schoereder, J. H., Schaefer, C. E. G. R., da Silva, W. L. 2007. Determination of the conversion factor in colonies of Atta sexdens rubropilosa (hymenoptera: formicidae) and its relationship with the quality of harvested leaf substrate. R. Árvore, Viçosa-MG, v.31, n.1, p.163-166.

Oral Presentations:

da Silva, W. L., Clark, C. A. 2012. Flooding-associated soft rot of sweetpotato storage roots caused by Clostridium spp. APS Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. August 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-102:S4.28

da Silva, W. L., Clark, C. A. 2012. Infection of sweetpotato by fungal end rot pathogens prior to harvest. APS Southern Division Annual Meeting, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. April 2012. v. 102, n. 4S, p. S2.1-S2.11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-102-4-S2.1

da Silva, W. L. , Clark, C. A. 2012. Infection of sweetpotato by fungal end rot pathogens prior to harvest. National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group Annual Meeting, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

da Silva, W. L., Rodrigues, F. A. 2011. Histochemical analysis of wheat resistance to leaf blast mediated by silicon. APS Southern Division Annual Meeting, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.

Posters:

Moreira, W. R., Rodrigues, F. A., da Silva, W. L., Schurt, D. A., Dias, L. A. S. 2010. Absorção de silício pelo pinhão manso. Simpósio Brasileiro de Silício na Agricultura, Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Schurt, D. A., Souza, N. F. A., Telles, K., Ribas, W., da Silva, W. L., Rodrigues, F. A. 2009. Quantificação da atividade enzimática em bainhas de arroz supridas com silício e inoculadas com Rhizoctonia solani. Congresso Brasileiro de Fisiologia Vegetal. Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.

da Silva, W. L., Schoereder, J. H. 2005. Formigas saúvas preferem diferentes tipos de solos? I simpósio brasileiro de insetos sociais: Insetos sociais e desenvolvimento sustentável IUSSI, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Souza, D. J. da Silva, W. L. Sousa-Souto, L. 2004. Existe dominância entre rainhas em colônias artificialmente poligínicas de Acromyrmex subterraneus molestans?. Anais do I Simpósio de Entomologia da UFV, Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Curricular Activities:

Member of the executive committee of the Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology Graduate Student Association.

Treasurer of the Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology Graduate Student Association.
Member of the Committee of Courses and Curriculum of the Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology Department.

Professional Affiliations:

APS - American Phytopathological Society

APS - American Phytopathological Society – Southern Division

SBF - Sociedade Brasileira de Fitopatologia (Brazilian Phytopathological Society)

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

IUSSI - International Union for the Study of Social Insects